


Oblivious

by krelofwerewolf



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Action & Romance, Angst, Book 7: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Dark Ginny Weasley, Duelling, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fights, Horcrux Hunting, Horcruxes, Kidnapping, Obliviated Ginny Weasley, Romance, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-30
Updated: 2019-06-20
Packaged: 2019-10-19 14:08:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 24,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17602799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/krelofwerewolf/pseuds/krelofwerewolf
Summary: Harry, Ron and Hermione fled from Bill and Fleur's wedding, but what happened to the Weasley family?Ginny is kidnapped by the Death Eaters, and they wipe all of her memories on her past life. When she is all alone and confused, Victor Fawley helps her to build new memories.Will the Light side be able to save a person, who dosen't want to be saved?The story is building on the events after Bill and Fleur's wedding in the seventh book, The deathly hallows.





	1. The capture

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Fanfiction I've writed, and I'm so happy that you've decided to check it out! English is not my first language, so the grammar and spelling might be wrong in some places, and I apologize for it now on beforehand. I'm partly doing this to improve my English, as Fleur Delacour would've said. I hope you find the story interesting!

Everyone was surrounded by Death Eaters. There were at least forty of them, and all their wands were pointing at those who had stayed at the wedding.

The Death Eaters had broken the protections around the Burrow after they had taken over the Ministry, and Harry, Ron and Hermione had disapparated just in time before they came.

The people from the Order of the Phoenix who had attended the wedding had stayed and fighted, but they were outnumbered. Remus Lupin, Tonks, Hagrid, and some others had been there, but it wasn’t enough.

The guests had fled, and now the others were stuck. The Orders wand's had been taken, and they were defenseless. The Death Eaters had stunned Hagrid with dozens of spells because of his giant blood, and he was strong enough to take out most of the men.

The Order glared at the Death Eaters, when a dark woman with heavily lidded eyes strode forwards. Mrs Weasley gasped, and the rest of the Weasley family’s eyes narrowed, and they growled at her.

“Well, well, well, the whole weasel family is here. And the Order too,” said the woman with an evil smile. “Oh, but wait,” she said and looked around at them, like she was counting them. “Yes, of course, the older brother is working with the ministry, smart lad. He knows what’s best for him, in these troubled times. Or he’s so stupid that he don’t even know what he signed up for.” She laughed mercilessly. “And then the youngest brother, where is he? He should be joining this wedding. Maybe out and playing with the golden Potter boy?”

The family continued to glare at the woman with hatred, but they didn’t say anything, until Ginny broke the silence.

“He’s not with Harry, you stupid woman,” said Ginny and the woman shot her a nasty look. “He’s upstairs, sick with Spattergroit.”

The woman seemed to consider Ginny for a moment, and then turned to the man on her right. He was tall and ugly, and had a small, black beard. Ginny could feel how bad he smelled even from several meters away.

“Go upstairs, search the whole house and see if anyone’s hiding. I want to find Potter.” said the woman and looked at Ginny when she spoke the last words.

“Yes, Bellatrix.” said the ugly man, and he and three other men started to look through the house.

“He’s not here, if you’re stupid enough to think so,” spat Ginny out before she could stop herself. She didn't know what made her say all those insults, but she couldn't _not_ do it. Fred and George took a hold of either of her arms to hold her back or protect her, or perhaps both.

Bellatrix scolded at her, but her grimace slowly turned into a wicked grin. Ginny gulped; that couldn’t mean well. Her brothers grip on her arms tightened slightly.

“Yaxley!” shouted Bellatrix over her shoulder. “Please join us for our investigation.”

Another man stepped into sight and smiled crookedly at the Weasleys and the Order. His eyes lingered on Ginny, and she shuddered. She didn’t like him watching her with that expression on his face.

“Alright then,” said Bellatrix and clapped her hands, as her voice became more business like. This was like a game to her. “We want to know where Potter and the Mudblood is. We know she’s with him.”

“Don’t call Hermione Mudblood, she’s as much witch as me.” snarled Ginny through gritted teeth.

“I think we’ll start with her.” said Bellatrix nastily, and two other men walked forward and grabbed Ginny’s arms, and tried to thrust the twins away.

“Don’t you dare touch her.” growled Fred, but their father stepped in and put his hands on the twins shoulders.

“Boys, don’t give them a reason to hurt you,” said Mr Weasley cooly and shot his daughter a worried glance. He then looked at Bellatrix with hatred. “But he’s right, don’t you dare try to hurt her. Give me one reason to hurt you.”

The twins stepped slowly and reluctantly away from Ginny, and they shot angry and mistrusting looks at the men who pushed their sister out of the circle of Death Eaters. Yaxley and Bellatrix followed them.

Ginny was thrown to the ground, but she didn’t make a sound. She didn’t want to give them the pleasure to know they were hurting her. She also didn’t want her family to do something rashly if they heard her being hurt. She lifted her head and sat up slowly.

“Alright, let us begin,” said Bellatrix as she looked down on Ginny. “First question, where is Harry Potter?”

“Don’t you dare use his full name!” said Ginny angrily. Bellatrix laughed.

“Wrong answer. Crucio!” Ginny slumped back to the ground and thrust around on it as the pain commenced. She couldn’t control herself, and she screamed until her throat tore up. The agony was unbearable.

The pain suddenly stopped, and she heard her brothers screaming her name. It sounded like they were trying to get to her, but the other Death Eaters were holding them back.

“I-I’m f-fine.” she stuttered weakly, but she doubted that they heard her.

“We’ll try again then, and if you don’t give me a satisfactory answer, you will pay the price. Where is Harry Potter?”

Ginny hesitated a second. A second too long. A hand came into her sight, and a loud smacking sound could be heard. Ginny’s head was thrown back by the force of the blow to her left cheek. A whimper escaped from her, and she cursed herself inwardly for making herself look weak. Her cheek burned from the pain, but she clenched her jaw and made no more sound.

Her family was now screaming again as they heard everything that went on outside their reach. Ginny raised her head from the ground again, not wanting to let them play with her. She saw that Yaxley strode back to stand beside Bellatrix. It must’ve been him who slapped her.

“Where is Harry Potter?” asked Bellatrix, now more impatient.

“I don’t know. We haven’t heard from him since Dumbledore’s funeral. ” said Ginny weakly, giving up her attempts on being a burden. Bellatrix looked outraged.

“If that is the case, was the Mudblood also last seen on that occasion?” she asked, panting slightly from her rage.

“Yes.” Ginny closed her eyes, she knew what was coming.

“Crucio!” screamed Bellatrix. Ginny laid on the ground, her body twisting from the unbearable agony. Her eyes rolled around in her head, and she screamed again even though her voice was hoarse and broken.

After several minutes, the curse was lifted, but the pain continued to throb in her body. Her muscles and nerves were sore, and it felt like she had broken every bone in her body. Her vision was blurred and unfocused, and she didn’t have the strength to sit up again.

She didn’t stand up, her body still twitching from the pain, but she listened around. It sounded like Bellatrix and Yaxley had left her and were talking to her family.

“You bastards! You said you wouldn’t hurt her!” screamed Fred and George. They were held back by two men each as they tried to attack Bellatrix. She laughed again.

“Oh no, you said that. I didn’t promise anything.” said Bellatrix with glee.

“You wicked… you sick monsters.” growled Charlie. Ginny could hear her mother sobbing. Her father was panthing with fury and spurn, and were trying to break free from those who were holding him back.

“Your useless little sister couldn’t give me any information. Could you?” She didn’t wait for an answer however, and went on instead. “I didn’t think so. What I do wonder, is why your brave little prat you call sister would be so interested in defending Potter.”

“He’s our friend, we’re not stupid enough to tell you where he is, if we even knew where he was. We haven’t seen him for weeks.” said Bill, sticking to the lie that they had all decided on.

Bellatrix ignored Bill and walked back were Ginny was still lying on the ground, still twitching, and looked down at her. Her vision was starting to become clear again, and she looked up at a puzzled Bellatrix.

“I’m not as good as Snape at Legilimency, but I’ll do. Let us see how good you’re at Occlumency, little girl. Legilimence!” said Bellatrix and pointed her wand at Ginny as she entered her mind.

Ginny hadn’t studied Occlumency, but she tried to build up a wall against Bellatrix. The weak wall she actually mustered was easely slammed down, and Ginny screamed from the pain it caused her. It felt like her head had been smashed against a wall a thousand times.

 **Where is Potter?** Ginny heard the question, and her mind raced to memories from the summer. Bill and Fleur's wedding, the last time she had seen Harry, Ron and Hermione. Damn it. She would know they had lied. There would be punishment.

But then, the memory from the day before appeared, that from Harry’s birthday. They were standing in Ginny’s room. And suddenly, they were kissing, and Ginny wanted to shove Bellatrix out of her mind, but she couldn’t, she was too weak. She could feel how Bellatrix was surprised, angry, but still very interested.

Then, her mind was showing her memories from her fifth year at Hogwarts. Their first kiss in the common room, their hands holding each other’s in the corridors, the snogging behind the hidden tapestries in the shortcuts in the castle, and his head in her lap as they laid on the couch in the common room.

Bellatrix was laughing with glee and shot out of Ginny’s mind. Ginny laid on the ground, moaning in pain from the severe headache she’d gotten from the attack. A lump in her throat formed when she tried not to cry from the pain, both physical and mental. She missed Harry so much that the thought of him made it hard to breath. She had made everything worse. We couldn’t she just shut up for once in her life?

Bellatrix hurried back to the other Death Eaters.

“You didn’t find anything in the rest of the house?” she asked the men who had come back from the house.

“No, there is no one here, except for us. The red haired boy is in the highest room. He looks indeed sick.” answered a man with a rumbling voice.

“That’s alright, we’ll keep looking for Potter, but I think I’ve found an excellent way to get him to us,” Bellatrix voice shook with delight. “We’ll leave for now, but take the girl with you.”

“No!” screamed her family.

“Don’t you dare touch her!” cried her mother.

“Oh, but she have suddenly a great purpose in her pathetic life. She will be helping us find the Potter boy. She should be proud to be helping the Dark Lord!”

“Ginny!” yelled Bill and Ginny’s insides ripped apart from the panic in his voice. Bill, her oldest brother, the one who had always looked out for her. But now, he couldn’t do anything. The lump in her throat made it hard to breath.

The same two men who had dragged her first, seized Ginny and started dragging her to the apparition point. They dragged her past her family and the Order, and she lifted her head to meet them. She saw the terror and anger in their eyes, and she tried to not look scared. Bellatrix grabbed her chin firmly and forced her to look her in the eyes. Her hands were cold and rough, and not at all soft. Ginny wanted to bite them of, that would serve her right, she thought.

“If you cooperate, the Dark Lord maybe spares your life. Maybe. You’re a pureblood after all. You could be broken down and rebuild again, and leave those Blood traitor fantasies behind, and marry another pureblood to keep the bloodline. No problem. You’re quite pretty after all.” said Bellatrix with an evil smile. She let go of her chin, and Ginny turned to her family again. When would she see them again? Would she ever see them again? She tried to stifle a sob, but failed and looked away.

They started to drag her away again and her family started to scream. She looked back at them over her shoulder, and saw them struggle against the people holding them back. But without their wands, they were helpless. Ginny couldn’t fight her own capturers because of the lack of strength. The torture combined with her throbbing head from the Legilimency attack left her weak and vulnerable.

She hated it. She hated herself for letting them make her weak. She hated being weak. Always the same, ‘take the smallest’ or ‘poor little girl’. She wasn’t weak. She wasn’t small. She was indeed shorter than most people, but she wasn’t Cho Chang.

It was the same at the Ministry of Magic at the end of her fourth year at Hogwarts. Torture the smallest, most venerable one, like she was the weakest. She had actually gained some muscles after her year as Chaser on the quidditch team at school. But without strength, as in that moment, she couldn’t use them.

When they had reached the right spot, they turned and disapparated, and appeared in front of a large manor house. Maybe the Malfoy manor, thought Ginny, they were rich enough to have a manor. They dragged her along the gravelled path.

A small breeze caught in her loose hair, and Ginny realised that it had become darker outside. It was only August, but the temperature had dropped as the darkness had emerged.

She couldn’t make out what was happening around her as her vision and mind were starting to get blurry again, so she closed her eyes. When she opened them once more, they were inside the manor. It was warmer and darker there, and the sounds were muffled fast, as if the room was isolated. She closed her eyes as they weren’t any use in the darkness and blurriness, and started to use her other senses.

She felt her feet being dragged on a floor draped with a soft carpet. That was probably why the sounds died out so quickly. They were walking long paths straight forward, but turned occasionally right or left.

They stopped after some minutes, and Ginny slowly opened her eyes. They were facing a staircase that went downwards. It looked even darker there, and it would no doubt be cold. Ginny shivered by the mere thought. She was still in her thin dress robes, dressed for the warm summer day outside.

They started to drag her down the stairs, and she tried to steady her feet on each step, but her legs couldn’t hold her weight, so she gave up. She had been right, it became colder for every step they took, and she shivered as the cold enveloped her. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, they continued to walk for some more minutes, and then they stopped again.

The man who held her right arm opened a door in front of them and they stepped in. The room was not big, nor small. It was completely empty, and the walls and floor were made out of stone.

The two men threw Ginny into the room, and she fell to the floor as she couldn’t find her balance. She looked up at the men who blocked the door, her only way to freedom. The floor was ice cold, and she began to shake.

Ginny stayed at the floor as she didn’t have the strength to lift herself up. There wasn’t anywhere else she could go if she wanted, anyway. She tried to ignore all of her feelings, but the cold seemed to force all of her anxiety and hurt further forward so it was all she felt. It almost made her grow more numb than the coldness. She was panting from the pain, and her head was throbbing hard.

What did just happened? She had been home with her family and friends only minutes ago, and then the Death Eaters had just burst through the wards as the patronus of Kingsley had told them that the Ministry had fallen. Chaos broke out, and then they were surrounded and wandless. She was terrified. What would happen now?

Ginny felt all of her blood leave her face as a thought struck her. They would use her to make Harry come and rescue her. Harry was too good-hearted, he would do anything to save anyone, probably even Malfoy. And now it was Ginny who’d been captured. She didn’t want to think about what they would do with her in the meantime, waiting for Harry.

She was still lying on the floor, and the last thing she saw was the men who’d dragged her there stand in front of her.

“I’m sorry, Harry.” she mumbled before she passed out.


	2. Hostage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I already have some chapters done, and I only need to write the finishing details before posting them. I can manage a chapter a day for now, but I'll come up with a posting schedule later. :)

Ginny woke up several hours later. It was dark in the room, and she guessed it was probably a few hours left to dawn. Her muscles was still a bit sore, but the pounding in her head had subsided. She was incredibly tired and wondered why she had woken, and realised that she wasn’t alone in the room.

She sat up and eyed the people inside. It was very dark there, but she could still see the outlines of three people. They were watching her, and when they saw her move, they walked towards her, their wands raised.

She missed her wand. She felt like something was missing from her body, like she had lost her arm. She wondered if her family had gotten their wands back. They probably had, as the Death Eaters probably had kept her own wand to themselves. She prayed that they hadn’t snapped it in half.

What would they do to her? Not be nice in any state, anyway. She was the girlfriend of the Harry Potter after all. Well, not anymore, she thought sadly. He had broken up with her a few months prior. But he had kissed her back when she’d kissed him on his birthday. Sometimes, in the only month he hadn’t been with her in the summer before he’d come to the Burrow, she’d missed him so much that she ached for him. She had cried endless tears for him, for his fate, his ‘destiny’.

She hated that she cried over a boy, like some foolish school girl who had been heartbroken for the first time, but she couldn’t help it. She loved him too much. It was as simple as that, and she hadn’t told him. She had been with him for several days in the summer, and many weeks in the last term at Hogwarts, but she had never said it. Damn it.

Her stomach clenched as she thought about her family, and Harry, Ron and Hermione being out there somewhere, the most wanted people in the country. Her eyes stung from tears that wanted to pore, but as she had grown up with six older brothers, holding back tears was an easy task.

The men stirred, and one of them waved his wand and said “Lumos.”

The light made her startle, and she lifted her arm to her eyes to dampen the abrupt light in the dark. She squeezed her eyes almost shut to make them more adapted to the light. Har muscles screamed as the cold had made them numb and rigid, and she found herself shaking again as her body tried to keep her warm.

Ginny thought about what Bellatrix had said at her house, that they would ‘break her’. She didn’t know what that meant, but she didn’t like the sound of it. The cold was almost unbearable, but it would take a lot more to break her.

She was a Gryffindor for heaven's sake! _Don’t be such a coward_ , she thought. But it was like she was eleven again, alone and scared down in the chamber of secrets. And this time, Harry couldn’t save her, because he didn’t even know she was gone.

“Look here, is the little girl already softened up?” asked one of the three, and Ginny scoffed.

“You would’ve hoped for that, I imagine.” said Ginny cooly. Her jaw was stiff, and it was hard to talk because it was so difficult to move it.

“Oh, but it doesn’t matter, because we’re here to help.” said the man in the middle and smiled evilly.

He lifted his wand and pointed it at Ginny. A red light shot out of it and hit her head. The force from the spell hit her so hard that her head banged into the wall behind her. She felt how her right cheek was split, and she yelped out of surprise and pain. The wound pulsed by the pain, and she felt how blood streamed down her face.

She groaned and slid further down the wall, in a position between sitting and lying. The men laughed at her, and she pushed herself up a bit, to not look weak.

“You want some more, little girl?” sneered one of the men, and the others laughed.

“What do you want from me?” asked Ginny with as much force she could muster. She didn’t want her voice to shake.

“Oh, we want many things Miss Weasley, but right now? We want Harry Potter, and you, are the key to our success.”

“Over my dead body!” spat Ginny and looked murderous at the men.

“And this is why we are here, little lioness. We are here to change your ways. We are here to help you on the right path. And if you don’t cooperate, well, it’s over your dead body then.”

“Right path my arse.” said Ginny, and suddenly she was lying on the floor, gripping her stomach. One of the man had stepped forward and kicked her in her abdomen, and all the air in her lungs seemed to have disappeared. She drew short and fast breaths to try and fill her lungs with oxygen again.

One of the men stepped forward again and gripped her chin to make her look him in his eyes. She glared at him and panted heavily. The man was ugly with uneven teeth, and brown eyes filled with a burning hatred, and Ginny felt herself fill with that same loathing. The blood from her wounded cheek kept pouring, and the man's hand was drenched in it. He didn’t seem to bother though, and it made Ginny uneasy.

He studied her for a minute, than he threw her away to the side, and she hit the floor again with full force. She landed on her shoulder with a crash, and it hurt immensely. Her hair laid around her face like a wispy chaos, and blocked some of her view of the others. The man kicked her again, then stepped back.

The cruciatus curse hit her again, and she suddenly wished that she was dead. It would be so much better. Harry would be much safer that way. The pain made her roll around, but whatever she did, the pain wouldn’t stop. _Please make it stop_ , she thought to herself. But it kept going on until she didn’t know what was real anymore. The curse lifted at last, and the relief washed over her. Her whole body was aching again, and now her ribs and lungs and shoulder hurt too. The pounding in her head began ones more, and she panted heavily.

“You need to understand what to do, now, _Imperio_!” he shouted, and Ginny felt how a floating sensation filled her. The pain seemed to lift a bit, and all the anxiety and loneliness was damped.

 _Say ‘I must obey the Dark Lord’_ said a voice in her head. It was so easy, just to do what the voice said. What did it matter? Everything was fine.

 _But was it?_ Another voice in her head spoke. A small and weak voice, that seemed familiar. Who was it? Why was she suddenly feeling uneasy? She didn’t like it, the floating was nice. Not to feel anything, just to be.

“I must obey the Dark Lord. I must obey the Dark Lord.” she kept repeating, and the other men who stood in front her smiled evilly.

She didn’t like it. Why were those foul men smiling like that? Nothing made sense. But she was _floating_. Did anything matter?

 _Yes. Some things matter. Remember?_ The small voice was stronger now, and she was hit with memories like a wave.

She was five years old, playing with a lot of boys with the same flaming, red hair outside a crooked house. She was ten, and saw a small, scrawny boy on a train station. She was eleven, surrounded by the same boys, and two older persons, being embraced.

Hugs. It made something stirr in her. She thought it was something nice. She didn’t remember how it felt. It looked nice. She wanted a hug.

She was thirteen, and she was hugging the scrawny boy with the messy hair. He had survived something. She didn’t remember what. It was something bad, she could feel that uneasy feeling again. She didn’t want that feeling, she wanted to float.

And then, she was fifteen, and looking at the scrawny boy, and now it was another feeling surrounding her. She felt warm, and her heartbeat increased. And suddenly, she was kissing the boy. The thin, beautiful boy with the breathtaking eyes, like the most expensive emeralds.

And she wanted that. She didn’t want to float anymore. She wanted that warmth, that group of people, hugs. And the kiss. She realised that the voice she’d heard was her own. It was trying to save her. Save herself.

Suddenly, Ginny broke away from the curse, and she was back on the cold floor, with the pain seething in her body. The anxiety hit her again, but now she also felt something else, love.

The men in front of her wasn’t smiling anymore, and she could feel the hatred from them filling the dungeon.

“It seems like she has to many good memories of the others. Let’s remove those.” said one of the men and the others nodded. Ginny felt how pure panic flooded her and she tried to crawl away from the men walking towards her.

“No! Don’t, please!” she cried in panic. They came closer and closer, and the panic and anxiety rose up in her body like a tsunami. She was hyperventilating and crawled to the wall and pressed her back against it. The men stopped in front of her and smiled wickedly at her again. She wanted to hit them with something. A boulder seemed to fit.

“It seems that our little lioness is starting to break. Is that so?” sneered one of the men and looked at Ginny. Her whole body was trembling and she wanted to give up. But the Gryffindor in her wanted to kick her and tell her to stand up and fight, but she already felt broken. Her body told her to keep herself safe and do what they wanted, but her mind told her to fight. She was battling with herself and realised that an ugly face was right in front of her.

“Cut the whining and do what we tell you. You could fight the Imperius curse, but if you don’t do as we tell you to, we will kill your family and let you watch them die. Do you want that?”

“No, please, no.” mumbled Ginny. She was sweating coldly and her dress stuck to her body together with her blood. Her hair was a mess and dried blood divided it into strings of wisps. She had to find a way to keep them away, she thought. She didn’t have her wand, but she had magic. She gathered all of her last strength and pushed it towards the men.

A deafening crack sounded in the dungeon and a loud bang from the men when they crashed into the wall on the other side of the room. Ginny looked confusedly around, and realised that she had done accidental magic, on purpose. Wandless magic, she thought and tried to stand up. She supported herself on the walls, and started to walk along them, towards the door. The door stood completely open, and she realised that she had opened the door too. Her legs were shaking badly and her body was trembling, but she continued even though her body was screaming no. Her mind was only set on one thing, freedom.

She reached the door and looked down on the men lying beside it. One of the wands was still shining from the tip, and she picked it up. It would be good enough if she would be fighting to get out. The men had been knocked out, and one of them were bleeding from the head. _Serves them right_ , she thought, and walked out of the door.  
The corridor outside was as dark as the room she had left, but the wand was lightning the path in front of her. She started walking, still supported by the walls.

She had to stop on some occasions to catch her breath and rest her legs, but she kept going until she reached the staircase. It was unbearably long, and she didn’t know if she could make it the whole way up, and then fight her way out. Her hope that she had gathered by escaping the dungeon was slipping, and she couldn’t keep a grasp on it.

She leaned heavily on the wall and tried to push the panic away, but it kept building again. It was impossible, she couldn’t make it, it was too far to walk, and she couldn’t figure out a spell or charm that would take her up the stairs.

As she stood and thought about what she would do, she heard voices. She jerked her head up and looked down the corridor from where she had come from. The men must’ve woken up, and they would soon be running after her. Ginny made a decision, and started to climb the stairs.

It was a slow climbing, but she was doing it. Every step felt like a protest in her body, but she kept going. She had walked about ten steps when she heard footsteps coming from above.

Ginny froze, and realised that someone else was coming down the stairs, towards her. This was it, she was surrounded. It didn’t matter what she did, she was too weak to run, and almost drained of magic.

She started to sob, but continued further upwards, even though she knew that it was no point in it.

As she had expected, a man came down the stairs with his wand raised. He was quite handsome, and had an elegance she didn’t know a Death Eater could have. He was tall, and had thick, shoulder long, brown hair. He was young too, only a few years older than Ginny herself, she thought.

He stopped a few stairs above Ginny, and stared down at her. His gaze was set, calculating. He didn’t look dangerous, but Ginny didn’t trust anyone. She glared at him, but she could sense that he knew that she was scared.

“What are you doing?” he asked in a deep voice. He didn’t say it with force, nor with a voice that said ‘you can’t get anywhere anyway, why are you even trying?’, he actually sounded like he was curious to know what she was doing. It surprised Ginny, because she had thought that she would never meet a polite Death Eater.

“Who are you?” she asked in a shaking voice. She would at least like to know who were pointing a wand at her.

“Fawley. What are you doing?” he said again, with more force this time. Ginny flinched back. She cursed herself for making herself look scared again.

“Fawley's the name, eh? Well, I’m trying to get out of here, so please step to the side if you’re not able to help me."

“You’re hurt. Where are your guards?” He eyed her wand suspiciously. “Who’s wand is that? I thought they took yours.”

Ginny studied the wand in her hand. It was longer than her own, and a bit thicker, and it felt very uncomfortable in her hand.

“It’s not mine, but never you mind. I’m not having a casual conversation with a _Death Eater_ , so move aside. Now.” She tried to sound impatient and irritated, but she only mustered a fake and unconvincing attempt to sound brave.

She was brave and strong, in a normal case. The odds were against her, and she was most certainly outnumbered by at least fifty against one.

The man named Fawley sneered at her, and looked more like a Death Eater now. Ginny thought she would use his inactivity against him.

“You know, you look a hell of a more handsome when you don’t sneer at me,” she said, trying to distract him. “And when you don’t point that wand at me.”

Fawley looked surprised and raised an eyebrow.

“And what would you gain by telling me so?”

“Well, you’re obviously not trying to hurt me, so I thought that a little reminder that becoming a Death Eater was a bad choice for your looks would do you good. A Slytherin, I believe? Those sneers must definitely be thought by the Head of your House. You’re quite young, you must have had Snape.”

“You’re very attentive.” said Fawley simply.

“Well Mr Fawley, I’m the youngest sibling of seven, so I pick up on stuff. I do recognize the name Fawley though, you’re a Pureblood?”

“Naturally. Why would I ever be accepted into this manor, where only the people from the Dark Lord’s inner circle visit, without being a Pureblood?” Ginny shrugged.

“I don’t know, all of you can’t be Pureblood, there isn’t enough of us for your army. But I guessed that you’re a Pureblood because of your name, I recognize it. We’re probably related somehow since we’re both Pureblood.” Fawley nodded. 

“Yes, probably. And I was in Slytherin, but most of my family has been in Hufflepuff. Me and my mother is the only ones who’s been in Slytherin in my closest family.” said Fawley.

Ginny suddenly heard voices again behind them, and she realized that Fawley had just distracted her. She cursed and looked up at him.

“Stand aside, now!” said Ginny loudly and started to move up the stairs again. She held her wand high and pointed it as steadily as she could when she walked towards Fawley. He didn’t move however, and Ginny only stopped when she was standing one step beneath him.

She could feel the warmth spreading from his body, and she longed to come up and be warm. Their bodys were almost touching, and Ginny gulped faintly. He could do anything to her when she was standing that close. Hit her, push her down the stairs, pull her up the stairs with her hair, but he only stood there, watching, calculating.

Ginny let out a breath and started to move again, when he gripped her wrist, the one that was holding a wand. She flinched from his touch, and tried to jerk it out of his gripp, but he was strong.

“Let. Me. Go!” screamed Ginny as she tugged her wrist to her own body, and tried to push him away with her other arm, but he wouldn’t let go. She kicked and punched him, but he didn’t flinch or let go.

They could hear loud voices and stamping feet in the corridor beneath them, and Ginny realised that everything was too late, once again. She stopped trying to tug her arm from his grip, and sank to the floor insted.

“Please, don’t let them do anything. Please.” she begged and looked deeply in Fawleys eyes. Something seemed to flicker behind his eyes, but it could have been an imagination.

“Look at me, and stay still,” he said and stared at her with an intense gaze. He lifted his wand and said “Obliviate!” and Ginny’s mind went blank.


	3. Crisis

Bill sat down in the kitchen, writing a letter to Kingsley. After he was done, he read through the parchment, stuffed it into an envelope, and fastened it to the owl who had delivered Kingsleys letter.

 

He watched the owl fly out of the window and disappear from his view, but he didn’t turn his gaze away from the window, even when the owl was long gone.

 

He was angry. Furious. How _could_ they just take his little sister? Why hadn’t he done more? They just took her, and he couldn’t do anything. He hated those stupid Death Eaters. He hated this stupid war.

 

And now they were using her as bait, to make Harry, Ron and Hermione come after her. He wouldn’t let that happened. For now, only the order knew about Ginny’s capture, and they would save her.

 

Bill felt like he would get sick with guilt. Ginny had been gone for two full days, and they hadn’t found her yet. They were no doubt torturing her, like they had done so casually in her own home with her family right there to watch.

 

He felt like he had failed his sister. She had always looked up at Bill, and now, he couldn't save her. It stung in his heart only thinking about it.

 

Their mother and father had sent a letter to Percy to inform him about Ginny gone missing, and he had actually sent a reply saying that he would come home and talk as soon as possible.

 

Bill was happy that his brother had seen the seriousness in the situation and decided to lay the sword to the side. Percy loved Ginny more than anyone else in the family, and he did care what happened to her. Even the family feud didn’t stop him helping them get Ginny back.

 

The Order had decided to resemble an emergency meeting at Moody’s house to decide what to do next. Grimmauld Place was not safe anymore as Dumbledore, who had been the secret keeper of the house, had died. Snape had also openly joined the Death Eaters for good, so they couldn’t rely on that he would keep quiet about the Headquarters whereabouts. The Weasleys would be apparating there in two hours, but everyone was sleeping in the moment.

 

Bill himself hadn’t slept much in the nights since Ginny had disappeared. He had sat up long into the nights and woken early, and he tried to write down every place she could be held. The list was long, and they would need to check every place to be sure that she wasn’t there.

 

One after one, the Weasleys came down the stairs and joined Bill at table to eat breakfast. Fred and George was first to get up, then Charlie, Fleur, and last their parents. Their mother’s eyes were big and red rimmed, like she had been crying the whole night.

 

Bill stood up and embraced his mother. He was several inches taller than her, and she sobbed into his chest. He rubbed her back and whispered comforting words in her ears until she pulled herself together.

 

She looked him deep in his eyes and patted his cheek.

 

“You are so good hearted, William.” she said. “All of you boys.” She turned to her other sons and smiled weakly.

 

“Don’t you worry mum, we’ll find her soon enough. The Order will help us.” said Charlie. The others nodded in agreement.

 

“When is Percy coming?” asked George. Percy was supposed to meet them at the Burrow, and then side apparate with Mr Weasley to Moody’s old house, as Percy didn’t know the location. Mr Weasley looked at his watch.

 

“In half an hour.” said Mr Weasley as he sat down at the table. Bill kissed Fleur and held her tightly for a couple of extra seconds more than usual. He didn’t want to lose her too. The family tried half-heartedly to eat some breakfast, but neither of them had any appetite. Fred nibbled absentmindedly on the edge of some toast, George and Charlie tried to eat some eggs, but couldn’t manage much. Fleur ate small bits of fruit, and Mr Weasley drank some coffee, and Mrs Weasley drank tea. Only Bill didn’t eat anything.

 

“Bill, you need to eat something. Ginny wouldn’t want you to starve yourself for her sake.” said Fred as he laid his toast down.

 

“No, I can’t. I can eat after the meeting. Right now, I need to focus on not vomiting on the table.” said Bill stiffly. Suddenly, they heard a crack ouside the house, and they jumped to their feet.

 

A knock on the door later, and Percy stood in the kitchen. He looked grey and mirrored their concerned looks. The air was filled with an awkward silence.

 

“We need to know if you’re the right Percy.” said George suspiciously. Percy nodded stiffly and looked at the twins.

 

“What did we turn your Head Boy badge into in your seventh year?” asked Fred, and George’s mouth twitched, as if he tried not to laugh. Percy smiled weakly.

 

“Big Head Boy.” said Percy and stood awkwardly and shifted his weight between his legs.

 

“That’s our Perce.” said the twins at the same time. They were not fond of the things that their brother had done, but they were desperate for any help that they could get.

 

“Welcome home, Percy. I hope you understand how serious the situation is.” said Mr Weasley. Percy nodded.

 

“Yes. I know our relationship has been… on ice for some time, but, I would do anything to keep Ginny safe. She is my little sister.” said Percy.

 

“We hoped so. There’s no need to wait. Let’s go.” said Mr Weasley and pulled on his cloak.

 

A little while later, the family was seated around a large table in Moody’s house for the meeting. Kingsley Shacklebolt, Remus Lupin, Tonks, Hagrid and a few more Order people had joined them. The absence of Moody was not unnoticed by anyone, and they were still grieving, but they pulled themselves together for the sake of Ginny.  

 

“Alright, fill us in once again.” said Kingsley seriously.

 

“There were a lot of Death Eaters, around forty or fifty. Bellatrix, Yaxley and the Lestrange brothers were there for sure, but I didn’t catch anyone more.” said Bill.

 

“I saw Rookwood.” filled Tonks in.

 

“Yes, me too,” said Remus. “But I thank heavens that Greyback wasn’t there. I don’t know what would’ve happened then.” Mrs Weasley sniffed loudly and gripped her husband’s arm. Bill looked sickly grey at the thought. His own scars was still not properly healed as they were cursed wounds, and they took longer time to heal.

 

“But she’s with them, and Greyback could also be there.” said Bill and swallowed. “We _need_ to find her.”

 

“I’m aware.” said Kingsley. He was always holding his head cool in situations like these, and it helped the Order more than they could imagine. The Weasleys were a bit hot headed, and would do things rather rashly, but that included not building up a good plan first.

 

“We need to focus. Kingsley, what do you suggest that we do?” said Mr Weasley.

 

“Yes, thank you Arthur. We need to figure out where she’s being held, and then figure out a plan to get her back.” said Kingsley.

 

“I’ve made a list of places she could be hold.” said Bill and drew out a parchment from his pocket. He laid it out on table and smoothed it out so everyone around could see it.

 

“First thing; The Malfoy Manor. It’s a highly protected house and they could easily use it as Headquarters. He who must not be named is also likely to be spending time there.” Bill continued.

 

“That is true, we will be sure to check out the manor.” said Kingsley and nodded. “Please continue.”

 

“The old Riddle house, in Little Hangleton. Maybe they are using it now as it’s been abandoned for many years, and they have access to it.”

 

“Good point, we need to send someone out to look for some activity in the area.”

 

“Then we’ve got the Lestrange Manor. It’s not as well known as Malfoy’s, but it’s big and is positioned at the coast near Liverpool what I know of. It could be a potential place to hide.”

 

The meeting continued on, and several places were mentioned, and most of them were declared to be under observation in the nearest days, but as it looked now, Ginny wasn’t going to be saved in at least several weeks.

 

Suddenly, they heard a sharp tapping noise on the window, and they all looked up from the parchment on the table. Charlie was nearest and walked to the window and opened it. The large tawny owl fluttered in and landed on the windowsill. Charlie untied the letter tied to the owl, and it took flight at once. The messenger didn’t want an answer.

 

Charlie opened the letter and read it through swiftly, and his face grew paler as he came further and further down the parchment, until he was done reading. He looked up at the people that were watching him, and he swallowed and let out a breath.

 

“This is not good, not good at all.” he said, and started to read the letter out loud for the others to hear.  

 

* * *

 

Ginny opened her eyes. Where was she? She didn’t know. Who was she? She thought she knew.

 

Ginny. Ginevra Molly Weasley. What a funny name, she thought. But where was she? The room seemed familiar somehow. She was lying in a bed in an almost empty room. There was a desk and a chair in there, and a wardrobe too.

 

Was this her room? Maybe. It did seem familiar, but there wasn’t anything personal there. Did she have anything personal? She didn’t know what she liked. She felt empty, like she didn’t have a personality. It felt she had a void in her stomach that needed to be filled. Like she was hungry, and needed food to fill up her stomach.

 

Her head was clear and she sat up. She felt curious about everything. Why was she there? Was this her home? She couldn’t remember any people, she had no memories, but she didn’t feel scared about it. It was an experiment on herself, she wanted to know more.

 

She stood up and saw two doors in the room. She guessed that one of them was a bathroom. That would be nice, as she needed to visit the bathroom. She opened the door to the left and stepped into a smaller room. It was indeed a bathroom, and when she turned to her right, she found herself staring into a mirror.

 

She watched the mirror with interest. The person looking back at her had long, red hair, but it was dirty and hanged in front her face in wisps. Her hair was stale in some places, and she could see dried blood in it. Her right cheek had a long gash on it. Dried blood surrounded her face, and the wound had started to heal itself. It would probably leave an ugly scar, but Ginny found herself not caring much. Her eyes were brown and curious, and she wore a black nightgown.

 

Was this Ginny? It must’ve been, it was not a painting she was looking at, she could see the shower and toilet behind her in the mirror. She decided that a shower would do her good, so she dragged her nightgown over her hair and stepped into the shower. The water was immediately the temperature that she prefered, and she washed the blood and dirt of her body.

 

A shelf beside her held a bottle of soap, and it smelled flower and forest, and she liked the sent a lot. She thought that she would go out into some forest after she’d discovered what she was doing in this house.

 

After her bathroom break, she walked back to her- was it hers?- bedroom and opened the wardrobe. She pulled on a floor long, black dress made out something like silk. It was really comfortable. It had long, thin sleeves that widened at the ends. The back of the dress was open, and the length was almost perfect, and would fit together with a pair of heels. She looked at the clothes in the wardrobe. Everything was black, and there were only dresses.

 

Ginny didn’t mind, she liked dresses, she thought. Although she didn’t actually remember liking them, but she didn’t mind this one, so she thought it was okay.

 

She suddenly felt really hungry, and a bit lightheaded. How long had it been since she had eaten? What was she doing there? Where there any food on the other side of the other door?

 

After she had put on a pair of black pumps, someone knocked on the other door. Ginny hesitated, then walked up to the door and opened it. Outside stood a young man with broad shoulders and brown hair. He looked at her with a calculating gaze, and took in her appearance.

 

“Would you please follow me, Miss Weasley, we are about to eat breakfast downstairs.” said the man. He looked vigilant, and he had his left hand in his pocket, like he was holding something in there.

 

Something stirred in Ginny’s mind. A memory? She thought of a wand. Yes, magic, you used a wand to perform magic. But where was her wand? She did remember that she had had an own wand.

 

“Alright, but I think I’ve lost my wand, I need to look in my room for it. I’ll be quick.” said Ginny and started to turn back to look for her wand, but the man gripped her wrist, so she stopped.

 

“That won’t be necessary, we have your wand.” said the man. Ginny felt relieved, she didn’t like the empty feeling without it.

 

“Oh, that’s good, I thought I had lost it.” said Ginny and walked out of the room. She was still a bit tentative around the man, even though he didn’t look dangerous. But she didn’t want to take any risks without her wand. The man had let go of her wrist and walked beside her, leading the way. He smiled faintly.

 

“Yes, that would’ve been… awkward.” he said and shot a glance at her.

 

“Oh yes. My memory seem to be a bit all over the place at the moment though. Or some place where I can’t find them, anyway. Have we met before?” she asked with interest. She was curious to know who he was. Maybe they had known each other before Ginny’s memories disappeared. She knew that she had had memories before she had woken up, because she could feel things stirring in her when she saw or thought of things.

 

“No, sorry, I never told you my name. It’s Victor Fawley.” He stopped and reached a hand out for Ginny to shake.

 

“Ginevra Weasley, but I prefer Ginny. It sounds so old with Ginevra, don’t you think?” They continued to talked as they walked through the corridors. Victor seemed to relax more and more as they proceeded. Ginny felt herself relax a bit too, but she was still not trusting anyone this soon.

 

“This is a big house, is it a manor?” asked Ginny curiously. The wallpapers were dark, and the floor was draped in a red carpet. Moving portraits was following them with their gazes, but Ginny ignored them.

 

“Yes it is. It took me a while to find around here by myself.” said Victor with a chuckle.

 

“So this is not your house? You didn’t grow up here?”

 

“No, I’ve been living here for some months, but it’s not mine. I’m only a guest here.” said Victor and looked around the corridors.

 

They finally stopped in front of a door and Victor turned and looked at Ginny with a suddenly grave expression on his face.

 

“Alright Ginny, you need to listen carefully now.” Ginny’s eyebrows furrowed. “Inside here, there’s a group that’s really important. You need to show them respect when you are with them. Don’t talk to them if you’re not spoken to yourself, and do what they tell you to do. They won’t hesitate to hurt you if you don’t, okay?” Ginny nodded slowly. She would be ready to defend herself if she needed to, but she didn’t tell Victor that. The people sitting inside that room seemed to be important, and she could use it against them if needed.

 

“Good. The time you are here, you need to show them respect. They are going to train you, and build up your memories again. It will mostly be me, but they will be around a lot, so don’t cause any trouble. You are important to them in some matters, but we’ll talk about that in time. For now, you need to keep your head down.” said Victor. Interesting, thought Ginny. They needed her, that could also be used. She wanted to pick up as much information that she could get here. She wanted to have every detail that could favor her later.

 

“Alright then.” said Ginny quietly. She was interested to see who those people were.

 

They stepped in to a large dining room with a long table in the middle. About thirty soft chairs was surrounding the table. At the middle of it were a group of seven people sitting.

 

The group sitting there looked up, and a tall, dark woman smiled, but without any warmth in her eyes. Ginny felt a shiver go through her body. She felt like that was not a woman who you crossed without punishment. The woman stood up and waved her hand to make Ginny come forwards.

 

“Welcome, dear Ginny.” said the woman. She was also dressed in all black, but she had robes, rather than a dress like Ginny. Ginny looked up at Victor, who nodded.

 

“Good morning.” she said uncertainty and moved closer to the woman.

 

“Please, sit down, you must be starving. You too Victor.” The woman sat down again, and Ginny seated herself beside her. Victor took a seat on the other side of Ginny, and she felt a bit reassured by his presence.

 

Victor had been right, the group seemed to be filled with people with authority. No one else had spoken a word since they had entered, beside from the woman. On the other side of the table sat two men who looked a lot like each other. They must be brothers, thought Ginny. The rest of the people sitting at the table was watching her with great interest, but maintained silent.

 

Ginny sat still and watched the others for a moment. Victor had suited himself with some bacon and eggs, and nodded encouragingly to her to do the same.

 

She looked over the table filled with food. She craved something sweet, so she took some toast and spread plum marmalade on them. It was really good, and she ate her toast in silence as Victor had told her. The woman to her left eyed her carefully, then broke the silence.

 

“I think we should introduce ourselves as we are going to see each other for some time. My name is Bellatrix Lestrange, and that is Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange, brothers.” Bellatrix pointed to the men sitting across them. “Rodolphus is my husband.” She added at Ginny’s puzzled look.

 

Ginny nodded in understanding as she was introduced to the others around the table. There were only men there except for Bellatrix, but Ginny didn’t asked further about it.

 

“Now, I think we all are interested in how much you remember. Tell us everything you know.”

 

Ginny screwed up her face as she tried to remember.

 

“My name is Ginny Weasley, as you apparently already know. I’m fifteen years old, and I’m turning sixteen the eleventh of August. I’m attending Hogwarts and will begin sixth year there on the first of September.”

 

She hesitated, because a lot of things became blurred as she drove through her mind to find other memories. There seemed to be a lot of loose ends in her memories, and the things weren’t connected to any emotions.

 

“My wand is 9 inches long, made of yew and unicorn hair. I’m in Gryffindor, but I can’t remember any of my classmates. I don’t remember if I had any friends.”

 

She though that she maybe would be sad that she didn’t remember any potential friends, but it didn’t affect her. She had Victor, he was something close to it, even if she didn’t know anything about him.

 

“I see.” said Bellatrix with a curved smile. She waved her wand, and an image of a boy with black hair and glasses showed in the middle of the room. “Do you recognize this boy?” she asked Ginny and looked at her expectedly.

 

Ginny rummaged through her mind for some recognition.

 

“No… he seems familiar, but I don’t know who he is.” Bellatrix looked triumphant.

 

“I see. It is good that you don’t remember him, but I’m sorry I have to remind you again. This is Harry Potter. Do you know that there is a war going on?” Ginny’s eyes widened.

 

“No, I had no idea.”

 

“I thought so. Well, Mr Potter here is on the other ‘side’ of this mess, and we need him so the war can end. Don’t you want the war to end?”

 

Ginny nodded eagerly. She felt a bit uneasy, a war? How could she have forgotten that?

 

“Harry Potter is the leader and symbol for the other side. He is their hope, and he is supposed to kill our leader, the Dark Lord.” said Bellatrix.

 

“The Dark Lord?” asked Ginny carefully. Was he using dark magic?

 

“Yes, that is what we call him. His name is too pure to speak casually, and the other side calls themselves ‘light’, so we couldn’t call the Dark Lord ‘The Light Lord’ even if he is our light to our future. Do you understand?” Ginny nodded. That seemed to make sense.

 

“His name brings fear to the ones who doesn't like him, so they call him ‘He who must not be named’, or ‘You know who’, because everyone knows who he is. They are only too weak and cowardly to dare speak his name. But we don’t say his name, only to show respect. He is the key to a brighter future, and wizards and witches can once again come out in the muggle public, so we don’t have to hide.”

 

“But won’t it just be like before witches and wizards came into hiding, and muggles will hunt us again, because they’re scared?” asked Ginny curiously. She wondered how it could be any better.

 

“You see, Ginny, that all the problems in the magical world is caused by the Muggles. We wouldn’t need to obliviate Muggles memories, if they saw magic, if they already knew about it. We wouldn’t need to hide from them, if they knew their place in this world, and that is, beneath us.” said Bellatrix with conviction.

 

“But won’t the Muggles want our magic if they knew about it?”

 

“Exactly. That’s why we’re supposed to rule and control over them, so that they can’t do anything against us.” Ginny thought about it, and frowned.

 

“But aren’t the Muggles a lot more than us? How are we supposed to rule over them if they’ll have an overtake?”

 

“You’re clever Ginny, I’ll admit. But you need to widen your perspective. They are the weaker ones, but as they’re too many, we’ll have to reduce the population to manage to control them.” Ginny didn’t seem frightened or disgusted by the information, she looked more like she was considering. The thought didn’t seem entirely disturbing, and if the war would end, it seemed like a reasonable thing.

 

“What are the Light side fighting about?” asked Ginny.

 

“They want equality between us and Muggles, but it can’t happen, as we are more powerful than them.” Ginny nodded in agreement. Why would witches and wizards hide when they could do amazing things?

 

She felt how the empty ‘mind-stomach’ in her began to fill slowly. It felt like she was gaining power, and Bellatrix was feeding her with power. She was slowly starting to trust them, and was interested in how she came to be there.

 

“And how do I come into the picture?” she asked. Bellatrix smiled and leaned back in her chair.

 

“Victor, why don’t you tell her? I think it will be good to start her lessons now.”

 

“Yes, of course. Well, you are quite important for us, as the other side is trying to kidnap you to their side.” said Victor. Ginny stared at him with a unconvinced look, and he smiled faintly back at her.

 

“It’s like this. You are a Weasley, a Pureblood” he continued and waved his wand in the air so that pictures started to form in front of them. A man with thin, red hair and a short woman with a big smile appeared in front of them. “This, is your parents, Arthur and Molly Weasley.” He waved his wand again and more pictures formed in the air. “Those are your brothers, William, Charles, Percy, Fred, George and Ronald. Your whole family is known Blood traitors, except maybe for your brother Percy, who didn’t want to be recognised with the family since some time ago. You were raised like Muggles, but with magic involved, so you don’t know about the Pureblood traditions. We are here to correct those mistakes, do you want that?” Ginny nodded in agreement.

 

“What do you mean with Blood traitors?”

 

“Blood traitors are Purebloods who like and socialize with Muggles and Muggleborns. That is not good, as marriage with Muggles can result in weaker offsprings. We Purebloods have strong magical lines, we are stronger than others. You are really powerful Ginny, and you shouldn’t get involved with someone who’s not worthy your time. Remember that.” Ginny nodded again, and felt how she grew stronger as Victor fed her with information.

 

“Alright, so back to your family. They are all working for The Order of the Phoenix, an assemblage on the other side on the war. They’re good friends with Harry Potter, and are fighting with him. Arthur Weasley works at the Ministry of Magic in the Office for the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Objects. We have an eye on him, and we’re planning to cut him out soon enough.”

 

“William Weasley, more known as Bill, married to Fleur Weasley, born Delacour, a quarter Veela. Works for Gringotts bank in London, and we’re trying to keep track of him. Now that we have the Ministry, it won’t be long until we have the Goblins in our pocket too. Charles, known Charlie, works with dragons in Romania, but is staying in England for now, we don’t know how long he’s staying here. Percy works for the Ministry as Junior Assistant for the Minister. He is on our side for now, but we’re keeping an eye on him too.”

 

Victor proceeded to fill Ginny in on her other brothers and studied them close. Her brother Ron was closest in age, and was sick in Spattergroit, but they weren’t totally shure, as no one had dared to step close to the boys bed. She didn’t know how to feel about them all. The things that Bellatrix and Victor had said had filled her mind, and she couldn't argue against it. Why her family wanted to be socialising with Muggles, she couldn’t understand. They were Purebloods, and should be connecting with witches and wizards of their kind.

 

Ginny had felt reassured by Victor when he’d said she was stronger than others. Yes, she was stronger, and she felt it more and more as they kept talking through the day. She and Victor had walked through the manor to show her around, and they spent time in the library to look at the old Pureblood families. She was slowly starting to learn the ways of the others.

 

They ate lunch and dinner alone as the others were on missions, Victor told her. In the evening, they sat at the patio and looked out at the ocean and drank firewhisky, and looked at the sunset. They sat in silence and looked at the water, until Victor broke the silence.

 

“What do you think?”

 

“About what?” answered Ginny absentmindedly.

 

“Everything. The manor, the Death Eaters…” he trailed of.

 

“You?” filled Ginny in and looked over at Victor. He didn’t meet her eyes, but kept staring at the sunset and sipped on his whisky.

 

“I think it makes sense, that’s what I think. I like how I can build myself again after the memory loss, it’s like I can be whoever I want, without all the upbringing stuff from any parents.” Victor nodded. “And you? I like you. I sense that Bellatrix is more… intense than me, but we’re on the same level I think.” Victor let out a breath and finally looked at Ginny. His brown eyes looked golden in the bright sunset.

 

“I’m glad that you think so. It would be quite difficult to live here with you if you didn’t like any of us.” he said with a small smile. Ginny smiled back and drank from her firewhisky and looked at the water again. She could see Victor looking at her from the side, and then he did a swift motion and Ginny flinched a bit as she shot a look at him.

 

He was holding a wand in his hand and was twirling it a little between his fingers. She eyed him curiously, and noticed that it wasn’t his wand.

 

“Is that my wand?” she asked breathlessly. She hadn’t got it over the day, because they wanted to know that they could trust her. Ginny had decided to be patient and play her cards as they expected her to, but after a while, she realised that she didn’t need to play all nice, and could lay nearly all of her cards on the table and trust them. She shared the same views as the others, and wanted to train to fight together with them.

 

Now, Victor was holding her wand, and it looked like he was giving it to her. Ginny didn’t want to set her hopes to high, but she couldn’t help but look at him enviously as he held it.

 

“Yes, it is. I’ve decided to give it to you, as a little present for your cooperation. We want to start training as soon as possible, and without your wand, it will be pointless, even though we will train some wandless magic, but that will come later.” He held out the wand at her, and Ginny reached her hand slowly to take. She gripped the handle of it, and felt a warmth spread through her hand, and then the arm, as it spreaded in her body. It was like she had attached a missing body part, and felt whole again.

 

“We trust you not to do anything stupid with that wand. We advise you not to try and leave the Manor. You are much safer here, as the Order is probably watching all possible places you could be. They want to take you back, but you were with us from the beginning, remember that. If they somehow managed to track you and try to convince you to go with them, remember what they’ve done to you. They took your memories away from you, and let you grow up like a common muggle.”

 

“Am I allowed to do magic outside school?” She would only turn sixteen in a couple of weeks, and it would be a whole year before she was of age to do magic outside school.

 

“Oh yes, we’re in control of all of the departments in the Ministry, you don’t have to worry.” said Victor with a smile. Suddenly he drew a parchment from his pocket, and waved his own wand so that a quill and ink appeared on a small table between them.

 

“Now, Ginny, I think it’s time to write your family and the Order a letter, and let them know what’s going on.”


	4. New lernings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the little weekend-break. I'm posting today as I'm sick and lying around home doing nothing. But here you go, a new chapter, hope you enjoy! :)

The following days, Ginny was trained by Victor and the Death Eaters. She remembered everything that she had learnt from Hogwarts, and she was trained to do the spells and charms even better. She was also trained in combat. 

 

Ginny was slowly but surely turning into a dangerous warrior, with a rough fighting-style comparable with Bellatrix herself. Fighting with knives and fists were also in the training program, and they were to start with curses and wandless magic next. 

 

Ginny woke up one morning, several weeks after her memory loss, and did her usual morning routine. She showered, braided her hair into two french braids and dressed in a black uniform, made out of a stretchy but comfortable material, designed to fight in. She wore it in the mornings at their trainings, and changed to a dress of some sort for the afternoons to their theoretical lessons, and dinners where Bellatrix sometimes joined them. She pulled on a pair of black boots made out of thick dragonhide, and went to leave the room. She had got the exclusive uniform for her birthday, and she was using it everyday for her trainings. 

 

When Ginny opened the door and stepped out into the corridor outside, she noticed that something was of. The usually lit up corridor was surrounded by darkness when she closed the door to her room. She stood motionless, all her senses on edge as she waited for something to happen. But nothing happened, so she started to walk down the corridor slowly, still looking for some signs of something suspicious. 

 

Her boots made soft bumps everytime she hit the floor with each step, and the walked carefully on the carpeted floor to not make more sound than necessary. Her hand trailed against the wall as she made her way through the dark corridor. She could see that the few portraits that hung on the walls were following her carefully, and looked around for some signs of danger. 

 

She had almost walked down the whole corridor and would be descending the stairs, when she heard something behind her. She turned faster than a cheetah running for her prey, and had drawn her wand almost inhumanly fast in a fluid movement. She was positioned in a dueling position, and stared into the darkness. Nothing could be heard except for her own pumping heart.

 

She suddenly heard a noise above her, and she looked up. She had only seconds of warning and jumped out of the way when a man landed on the floor on two legs, exactly where she had just stood moments before. The man rose quickly and shot a hex at her. Ginny quickly deflected it with a wave of her wand, and shot back a leg-locker jinx just as smoothly. The man jumped aside and came towards her. 

 

They dueled down the corridor until Ginny reached the stairs. She started walking backwards and kept her focus on the man. It was hard to see him as it was dark all around them, but she could see glimpses of him when the lights of the hexes and jinxes flew between them. He had a hood over his head that hid his face. She could tell that it was a man, because he was tall and broad shouldered, and had a figure that no women could have. They were both skilled duelers, and almost equal in speed and strength. 

 

Ginny reached the bottom of the stairs and shot a curse at the man, and he had to duck to not be hit with it. He answered with a curse, proficiency shot at Ginny and she tried to deflect it, but it hit her right arm, and she was thrown to the floor. She rolled on the floor and tried to steady herself, but had to roll out of the way for curse that flew at her again. She stood up and ran behind a pillar in the corridor. A red light shot beside her as she flew in behind the pillar. 

 

Her arm hurt, and her shoulder that she had landed on had locked itself, so she couldn’t move her arm enough to wave her wand to cast spells. She took her wand into her left hand instead, and jumped out from the pillar to begin the dueling again. The man was now aiming for her left arm to try and disarm her.

 

Ginny shot a slicing curse at him, and hit his left shoulder. He grasped his shoulder and slumped back half a step. Ginny walked towards him and shot jinxes and curses repeatedly, and the man deflected them with casual waves of his wand. Suddenly, he answered with a spell, and Ginny wasn’t prepared for his speed, and she found herself standing in front of the man, disarmed. Her wand flew through the air and landed some meters away, and she launched forward to get it. The man, however, was faster, and kicked the wand away into the darkness with his foot. 

 

Ginny drew with immense speed a small knife, hidden inside her jacket sleeve, and launched herself towards the man. The man jumped away and shot more spells at her, but she ducked and jumped away from them with ease, and kept attacking him with stabs from her knife. 

 

They were dueling fiercely when Ginny suddenly walked backwards into a wall. The abrupt halt took her focus away and she found herself pushed against the wall by the man. She tried to kick and punch him, but he held onto her wrists and pressed his legs against hers so that she couldn’t move. 

 

Ginny suddenly stopped trying to wrestle and wriggle herself out of the man's grasp. She had smelled him, and it was a particularly familiar smell. He smelled like forest, and a bittersweet something, like butterbeer combined with a few shots of firewhisky. She studied the man and tried to catch a glimpse of the face underneath the hood.

 

“Victor?” she asked, confused. They were both panting from the intense fight, and Ginny could feel both hers and the man’s hearts beating fast. The man let out a loud laugh and stepped back, freeing Ginny. He drew back the hood, and before her stood Victor Fawley.

 

“Good work Ginny, I’m impressed. Try not to mess with walls next time.” he said and smirked. Ginny pushed him away, but couldn’t stop a grin from forming on her lips. They stood a moment, taking in each others appearances, trying to catch their breaths. 

 

“Why’d you attack me? From above?” Ginny asked at last. Victor motioned with his hand for her to follow him, and they began walking through the corridors to the main parts of the manor.

 

“I decided to do a surprise attack today, to see how far you’ve come with your training. It is one thing to fight with someone you know, when you’re ready for what’s coming for you. It is, however, a different thing to fight with an unknown enemy, in darkness, not knowing what your opponent is capable of doing towards you. I’m pleased to see that you took aid in casting curses after a while. That was what we were aiming for with this training, to get you comfortable with fighting with curses.” said Victor.

 

They reached the patio, where the table was laid with breakfast. They sat down and began eating whatever was closest. The fight had drained the both of them of energy and magic, and the house elves had provided them excellently with everything they could think of for breakfast. They ate in silence, and Ginny looked at the calm ocean, pushing waves up the shore. 

 

“What are you thinking about?” asked Victor after a moment. Ginny looked at him, and realised that he must have been looking at her for a while. 

 

“I wonder how the Order of the Phoenix and my family took the contents of my letter. How fast are they going to act?” she said and looked back at the ocean. 

 

“We hope as soon as possible, but it may take a while. In the meantime, we’re training you, if they come up with some sort of ‘rescue-missing’, you’ll be able to defend yourself.” Ginny sat silent for a moment, then confronted him with a question that was bothering her a bit.

 

“If they somehow actually do get a hold of me, and tries to apparate or take me away in some way, should I kill them?” Ginny turned her gaze back to Victor, and he studied her closely before answering. 

 

“If the situation seems necessary, then yes, you may kill them. The Order is close friends with Harry Potter, and is most unlikely changing sides with him alive. Our short term goal is to kill Harry Potter, and he will try to ‘save’ you from here.”

 

“That’s something I don’t understand. I know Potter is a good friend with the Weasleys, but is he trying to save me because he thinks that I’m his friend, or only because I’m a Weasley?” Victor sighed and leaned back in his chair.

 

“Ginny, Harry Potter thinks that you’re more than friends.” he said. At Ginny’s confused look, he elaborated. “He is in love with you Ginny, and thinks that you feels the same.” Ginny looked taken aback with the news and only gaped at Victor. “You didn’t remember being in love with Potter, I recall?” Ginny shook her head. 

 

“No, I can’t think why I’d be in love with a fool and idealist like Harry Potter.” said Ginny promptly. Victor looked relieved.

 

“Good, because we can’t have you running away with Potter in the midst of everything, can’t we?” They laughed and talked a bit more, and Ginny didn’t bother to think about Harry Potter, her family, or the war. She didn’t notice though, the glances that Victor sneaked at her once in a while.

 

“Have you ever killed anyone before, Victor?” asked Ginny after a while. Victor fiddled with his fork in his hand, and didn’t answered at once. 

 

“Yes, I have murdered people. Mostly Muggles, but they hardly counts as people. A few muggleborns though, but they weren’t any use to us anyway.” he said casually. 

 

“Should I also kill Muggles?” asked Ginny. She was watching Victor, turning his fork in his hand.

 

“Well, we’ll let you come on some missions in time, and then, if the situation requires so, then you may kill people. Think like this Ginny; try to only kill people with less value than you. We try not to spill too much magical blood, but sometimes the people are beyond our save. Like Harry Potter.”

 

“I’ve read that killing and using Dark Magic rips apart your soul, is that true?”

 

“It rips out the good in our souls, but in this world, there is only darkness Ginny, and you can’t have both. You’ll have to choose, darkness, or lightness. We’ve chosen darkness, because it’s the easiest, and the strongest. Only the strongest remains in this world, Ginny, light or dark. Sometime soon, you’ll have to choose.”

 

Ginny only nodded. She could feel that her ‘mind-stomach’ was being filled, slowly but surleey. It felt dark, but she also felt incredibly strong. Just like Victor had said. Dark, but strong. It made sense. 

 

* * *

 

_ Dear Family _

_ I’m sorry to tell you that this might be the only time hearing from me from now on.  _

_ The Death Eaters have allowed me to write this only letter. I won’t be able to tell you our whereabouts, as they will be reading through this letter, before handing it to you.  _

 

_ They’ve told me that no one else than Harry Potter can come and take me away from here, but I’m insisting that you don’t tell him anything about me until the war is over, if it ever will end.   _

_ I won’t risk either him or you to save me. I’m not important enough. Even if you will be able to come through the protective spells around here, I’ll be in no state to help you in the war. That has the Death Eaters made sure of. _

 

_ I’m insisting that my life is not worth saving, as it’s already over. The torture I’m enduring will most surely leave permanent damage to my body, and I’m only hoping that they’ll end my life soon enough, as they will find that I’m use for no one. Greyback is quite fond of girls, and Bellatrix likes Crucio, I’m sure you know.  _

 

_ As you might remember, Bellatrix mentioned something about breaking me down, and marry me to a Pureblood wizard. I’ve been told that if Harry doesn't come in a year, they’ll dispose of me to some wizard, if they don’t kill me first. As I said, I’m still hopeful.  _

 

_ Please, do not tell Harry about this, as he is the only one who is able to come through the wards of the manor. I’m told to write that the view is perfect, and the sunset gives it a special shine in the evening. Don’t come looking after me.  _

 

_ Best regards _

_ Your Ginny _

 

Charlie had to read through the letter for the others three times before they could grasp the full contents of it. At the end, Bill snatched the letter out of Charlie’s hands and read it through two times more for himself, and threw the letter down on the table and started pacing back and forth in the room. 

 

They were all watching him, and tried to grasp the contents for themselves. Lupin recovered first.

 

“What… what should we do?” he asked. Bill stopped abruptly and turned to stare at Remus.

 

“We’ll go and save her, that’s what.” said Bill and glared at the others, as if to challenge them to contradict him. When no one said anything, he started pacing again. “What was that last bit she wrote? ‘The sunset gives it a special shine in the evening.’ The place must be in the west. And a manor. Didn’t it mention a manor?” Bill was almost frantic and was going through all that Ginny had wrote, as if they were clues.

 

“Bill. Please, stop it.” said Mr Weasley. He was white as a sheet, and looked like he’d pass out any second. “We can’t just run into a manor, filled with Death Eaters, and that’s promised to be heavily protected, even if we knew where this place was.” But Bill wouldn’t have it.

 

“I can’t just sit here and do nothing when my little sister is being tortured right in this moment!” he screamed at the group. “What did she write?” He snatshed up the letter again and read from it. “Ah, yes, ‘Greyback is quite fond of girls, and Bellatrix likes Crucio, I’m sure you know.’” He threw the letter away again, and it floated sadly to the ground. “She’s being tortured by Bellatrix, and raped by Greyback! That bastard who destroyed my face, and now Ginny’s life!” 

 

Bill slammed himself down on a chair, laid his arms crossed on the table, and rested his face on them. After a moment, he could feel a hand on his back and looked up. Charlie was standing beside him with a grim face. 

 

“For all we know, maybe Greyback isn’t that brutal.” said Kingsley, but with a slight unconvinced tone.

 

“She’s only been gone for a couple of days, and she already wishes to be dead. You all know how brave and strong she is. I can’t… I don’t....” said Bill, but he couldn’t continue talking, as a lump in his throat choked him. 

 

“Well, the Malfoy manor isn’t at the west coast, and nor is the Riddle house. There’s always some more unknown Death Eater houses at the coasts we could look at…” said Remus and tried to stay optimistic. He held Tonks’ hand in a tight grip, and looked her in her beautiful, big, brown eyes. “We need to speak with Harry, Ron and Hermione. Maybe they could help us, even if they’re out on a secret mission.”

 

“Yes, but there’s the slight problem with that. We don’t know where they are, and they’re on the run, so we probably won’t know where to look.” said Fred.

 

“Or maybe, we could send an owl to them, and follow it to find them.” said George.

 

“Great idea, maybe a patronus will work as well?” asked Fred.

 

“Maybe if we...” started George, but Percy cut across them.

 

“Will you two just shut up? We have an emergency here!” scolded Percy. The twins actually jumped, neither of them had ever heard Percy that angry. Sure, he had often been sour and irritated with them, and sometimes ranted about how immature they were, but never had he been angry. The only time was when he and Mr Weasley had shouted at each other, two years earlier. 

 

“Has anyone checked out Grimmauld Place?” asked Tonks after an awkward silence.

 

“No, I don’t think so. Do you think that they may be there?” asked Charlie.

 

“It’s a possibility, we may as well check it out before jumping to conclusions.” said Remus. “I can go there and look them.”

 

“No, don’t you dare leave me, I’m coming with you.” said Tonks angrily.

 

“Tonks, you need to stay safe, you can live with your parents until it’s safe.” said Remus firmly.

 

“But that could be ages!” cried Tonks. “I’m not going to just sit around, doing nothing.”

 

“You’ll be better help if you stay away from everything so that people don’t have to look after you all the time.” The rest of the Order looked confusedly between Remus and Tonks as they argued.

 

“Eh, we know that you are married, but you don’t have to act like an old married couple, you know.” said Fred.

 

“Remus, Tonks is an Auror, she can look after herself.” said Mr Weasley.

 

“No, you don’t understand, she’s…” said Remus and looked at Tonks. He looked almost frightened. Mrs Weasley drew a breath.

 

“Are you..?” she asked hesitantly, staring at Tonks. Tonks nodded slowly, and Mrs Weasley cried out out of joy. 

 

“Oh, Nymphadora, I’m so happy for you!” she ran forwards and tugged Tonks into a bone-crushing hug. “And you too, Remus.” Remus could only nod stiffly, and the others soon catched on what was happening. 

 

“You’re having a baby?” asked Charlie and grinned widely.

 

“That’s wonderful!” said Mr Weasley.    
  


“Congratulations!” cheered the twins. 

 

“Well, I’ve got to get going, if we want anything to be done.” said Remus and stood up. He kissed Tonks hastily, and walked out of the house. The others stared after him. 

 

“What was that all about?” asked Mrs Weasley.

 

“He, he thinks that he made a mistake. He thinks that the baby will turn out to be a werewolf, like him.” said Tonks and smiled sadly. 

 

“But that’s madness! The baby won’t be affected by that.” said Bill.

 

“We don’t know that. The occurrence is quite unique, but I’m sure that the baby is perfectly safe.” said Tonks calmly. “Well, shall we start planning how to save Ginny?”


	5. Spying

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for keeping on this chapter. I've been struggling with this one becasue it was a bit hard to write without missing out on anything. I'm still not properly satisfied with it, and will maybe edit it a bit when I have more time. I've been drowning in schoolwork, and just wanted to post this so you could have something to read. I know where I want to go with this story, but I have to come there too, and figure out what to do on the way. Btw the timeline could be a bit weird as Ginny and the Order is written so the days differ a bit, but I'm trying to keep it as true to the real book as possible. Now, I won't keep you, and try to enjoy this messy chapter. There will be more action soon, I promise!

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Remus were sitting in the underground kitchen at number twelve Grimmauld Place, discussing the secret mission that Dumbledore had given the trio.

 

The discussion had become heated as Tonks and Remus’ baby was mentioned, and Harry was furious that Remus was trying to ‘sneak out’ from his responsibilities when he had requested that he could join them in their mission.

 

“Harry, you don’t understand, this isn’t about me, or Tonks, or anyone! I’m not trying to run away from anything, but you three need to listen carefully now. I’m not trying to be selfish, I only suggested to help you. I suspect that your mission is going to be dangerous, and I thought that you would need all help you could get. But it doesn’t matter, I get your point. We don’t have much time now anyway, we’re being watched.” said Remus. Harry glared at him, but nodded all the same.

 

“Please don’t interrupt me now, but Ginny’s been captured by the Death Eaters.”

 

“WHAT?” shouted Ron. Harry’s jaw fell open, and Hermione’s hand shot up to her mouth and covered it in horror. Remus nodded grimly to the trio and they stared back, dumbfounded.

 

“But… but you said that everyone was fine! Mr Weasley’s patronus…” mumbled Hermione in fear. Harry’s mind was spinning, this was all his fault, he thought.

 

“Listen.” snapped Remus inpacently. “We are trying everything we can to to find her, and we don’t need you three to go and look for her too, placing yourself in more danger. We know that you have to go on the secret mission. It is important, isn’t it?”

 

“Oh course it is!” said Hermione, almost offended that Remus would question them.

 

“Very well then, keep going with your mission, and we’ll do anything we can to find her. We have an idea where she’s being held, and we’re going to check it out as soon as possible. The place is possibly very well guarded, but we’ll set out people to spy around it.” Remus stood up and threw his traveling cloak over his shoulders. “Good luck, you three. I hope that we’ll hear from each other sooner, rather than later.” He hugged each one of them, and turned to leave.

 

“Remus!” He turned around at the bottom of the stairs, and looked at the three young adults. “Be careful.” said Harry, and Remus nodded at him in recognition, and turned back, and leaved the kitchen.

 

Remus returned to the Burrow and nocked hard on the kitchen door.

 

“Declare yourself!” called a low voice through the door.

 

“It’s me, Remus John Lupin, werewolf, coming back from number twelve Grimmauld Place, talking to Harry.” said Remus clearly, and the door was wrenched open, and Remus hurried inside the house. He was met by a frowning Bill, still clutching his wand hard in his hand, hanging by the side of his body.

 

“You shouldn’t have said that, it could’ve been a Death Eater standing here instead.” said Bill accusingly.

 

“Yes, but this time, I knew it wasn’t a Death Eater standing there.” said Remus with a small smile. Bill raised an eyebrow in question, so Remus elaborated. “If it would’ve been a Death Eater, it would have opened the door at once, not holding it closed.” Bill only shrugged, and they walked further into the room.

 

They sat down at the kitchen table with the others, everyone eager to hear how Remus’ search for the trio had gone. All the Weasleys were there besides Percy, and Kingsley and Tonks were there as well. Remus sat beside Tonks, and he grabbed her hand under the table and gave a small squeeze.

 

“Well?” said Fred and George impacently.

 

“They are all right.” said Remus and everyone let out a breath of relief.

 

“They were at Grimmauld Place?” asked Mr Weasley.

 

“Yes. They had come into a tight spot at a Muggle cafe directly after the wedding, though. Two Death Eaters had found them, and there had been a fight, but they got away safely again and are resting at Grimmauld Place now for some time. I don’t know for how long, but I got the impression that they won’t be staying for too long.”

 

“Some Death Eaters found them? At a muggle cafe? But, how?” asked Bill, confused. “Are they trailed?”

 

“I’m not sure. They thought that Harry maybe had his trace left on him, but that should be impossible.” said Remus.

 

“Nothing’s impossible now that they have the Ministry in their claws.” growled Charlie.

 

“We just have to be careful now.” said Remus and sighed. The war was not in their favor now.

 

“Alright, shall we come up with the spying-schedule?” asked Mr Weasley. “I can do nights and weekends.”

 

“The same with me.” said Bill and drew a piece of parchment from his pocket. He summoned a quill and ink and began drawing up a time table.

 

“Me and George can go first and check out if the place seems to be where Ginny’s being hold.” said Fred and George nodded in agreement.

 

“That’s good, we’ll need to know if it’s the right place, and how heavily guarded it is. You have to do some revealing spells to see what you’re facing.” said Remus. “You can go there, preferably early tomorrow, and stay there for some hours to get a clearer view of it all.”

 

“I request that we keep Percy out of this, so he can easilier stay on the Ministry’s side without looking to suspicious.” he continued and got several nods of approval from the family.

 

“I agree. He wasn’t present at the wedding, and that gives us a small advantage. He works for Thicknesse, and Percy can serve as a sort of spy.” said Mr Weasley, scratching his chin.

 

“That sounds like a good idea.” said Remus approvingly. “Me, Molly, Charlie, the twins, Sturgis and Elphias can take shifts around the place on both days and nights. We’ll start as soon as possible. Ready guys?”

 

“We’re ready.” said the twins certainly.

 

“Great. Let’s save Ginny.”

 

* * *

 

 

“Is this even the right place? It looks so empty.” said George whilst hiding in a large bush. It was very uncomfortable, as the ground was hard, and the bush had sharp thorns that kept pecking them everywhere.

 

“It’s probably the protections around the Manor that makes it look uninhabited, so gits like us can’t go ‘round, snooping everywhere. Ouch!” said Fred. He tapped his wand at a small sting on his arm that a thorn had made, and tried to heal the small wound that was bleeding slowly.

 

“You know, we’ve been sitting here for almost four hours. Don’t you think that they would have moved outside for _once?_ I can’t feel my legs anymore.” said George grumply.

 

“I don’t know, maybe Ginny’s knocked them all out, and fled?” said Fred, trying to lighten the mood, but failing miserably.

 

“We could always hope. Merlin, if Ginny got hold of a wand, she’d hex the lot of them into next…” mumbled George, but Fred hissed a faint “Sch” at his brother, as a small _pop_ could be heard, and they sat dead silent.

 

“I think I heard something.” whispered Fred, and they spiked their ears even more to catch any conversations.

 

They had been spying on a big Manor at the west coast for several days, but hadn’t seen a single person the whole time. They could feel magic all around though, and they suspected it had been enchanted to look empty. Fred and George had been there more times than the others in the Order. One thing was that they had more time, with the now shorter open times at their store, but they were also the most urgent to find Ginny. They would take the mission to spy, just to get a glimpse of her, but they hadn’t had any luck that far.

 

“Hurry up Draco, we don’t want to be seen.” said a stern man's voice. He sounded irritated.

 

“Why did we apparate outside the wards then? Why didn’t we just floo over?” said a younger man's voice. The persons talking was not far away from the twins’ bush where they were hiding.

 

Fred and George looked at each other. They recognized those voices. And the name, Draco.

 

“Don’t speak to your father like that Draco.” said a woman's voice. “And remember to keep quiet inside. And please, avoid talking to Bella as much as you can. I don’t like you being too near her.”

 

“Yeah, I know mum.” said the man, who could be no other than Draco Malfoy. Fred and George squinted through the twigs of the bush, and tried to get a good look at the group walking towards the Manor. They saw three tall figures walk to the entrance, and the older man with long, blond hair, that was unmistakably Lucius Malfoy, knocked on the door.

 

The door that had stayed closed for several days opened, but they couldn’t see the person standing on the inside of the Manor. But now they knew, the place was inhabited.

 

“Welcome, Lucius, and your family. I hope you’re well?” said the person on the inside. It was a man talking, and he held the door open for the Malfoys to walk inside. The family moved inside the house, but not before Fred and George could hear Lucius saying “Good enough. Everything going smoothly here, young Fawley?”.

 

The twins looked at each other as the door closed, and the conversation was cut of.

 

“Fawley?” mouthed George to his brother, and he shrugged. They needed to remember that name. Fred raised an eyebrow, like he was asking a question. They looked each other in the eyes, and nodded with understanding after a non verbal communication, and raised their wands and pointed them at each other. This was somewhat hard, as the crowded twigs prevented them to reach each other properly, but they ignored the thorns and tapped each others heads with their wands.

 

After a tingling sensation along their spines, they crawled out from the bush and started to walk closer to the Manor, now invisible. They didn’t want to walk too close, if any wards would recognise them and reveal them to the Death Eaters.

 

Fred raised his wand and muttered several incantations to try and reveal any protections that would throw them away or something, but it seemed like the place didn’t have any unusual spells around.

 

Fred kept waving his wand, but stopped suddenly. A small smile appeared on his face. He began waving his wand again, faster this time, and mumbled several incantations until a small _pop_ could be heard. The twins were now facing the same Manor, but this time, it wasn’t the grey and dull looking house, with crushed windows on the second floor. This time, a grand house with a shining facade and bright white pillars stood in front of them. The flowerbeds in front of the house were big and well taken care of.

 

George whispered “Good work, brother.” and they started walking towards the Manor. George reached the door and placed a hand on the door. When nothing happened, he placed his still existing ear at the door, and tried to listen in if he could hear any conversations inside. When he heard nothing, he sighed and pulled two flesh colored strings from his pocket.

 

“Here” he whispered and held the strings over to Fred. He felt Fred’s hand find his own invisible hand and gripped one of the strings. They put them in their ears and urged them to slide under the door to start eavesdropping on the Death Eaters.

 

First, they heard nothing, but then a strong voice spoke like the person stood beside them.

 

“Well, we won’t be bringing Draco back to Hogwarts, we want him to be as close to us possible if a situation would appear.” said the same woman they had heard outside, only minutes before. It was unmistakably Narcissa, Draco Malfoy’s mother. They heard clinkering sounds, like they were having tea.

 

“Where did Draco go?” said another woman’s voice. Fred and George recognized that voice too. They tensed and gritted their teeth at the sound of Bellatrix talking.

 

“He went to find the Weasley girl. Victor said that she probably was in the library.” answered Narcissa, a bit more tense this time. More clinking sounds could be heard.

 

“Very well then. I was going to ask you, Fawley, is the plan going smoothly?” asked Lucius.

 

“Everything is very well. Weasley has find her place, and we’re following a tight schedule, but we’re positive that the Order is trying everything to find her. I can say that we’re expecting them, but we won’t take anything to trade her with except the Potter boy.” said the man that had opened the door. That would have to be Victor Fawley, thought the twins.

 

“What are you planning to do with the Order, if they come here?” asked Lucius.

 

“If they’ve brought Potter, then we will welcome them with open arms, but without them, I think I’ll have some fun with them, before killing them.” said Bellatrix viciously. A chill spread along Fred and Georges spines as she talked. How could this woman speak so unbothered about that sort of things?

 

“How is the girl doing?” asked Narcissa. The twins held their breaths. They knew she was alive, but in what state?

 

“She’s fine. Not talking much, mostly reading in the library after training. She enjoys eating her meals at the patio, and walk down the beach. I’ve seen her running along it on the mornings before breakfast, but she can’t go long. We’re keeping an eye on her after all. We don’t want her to sneak out now, won’t we?” said Fawley. They all laughed a bit, and talked about other things, not concerning the Death Eaters and Voldemort’s plans that the Order didn’t already knew.

 

Fred and George stayed for about an hour and a half, listening at the group cold talking, trying to find some more information, but got nothing more. The people inside started to get themself ready to leave, and they heard Narcissa walk away to fetch Draco from wherever he was.

 

The twins decided that they would draw back, and apparate home to their flat over the shop again. They had found out some information that could be useful, and they knew Ginny was relatively alright.

 

Back home at the Burrow that evening, they sat as usual around the table in the kitchen, and Fred and George would report from the day. The Order didn’t expect any news about the Manor as they hadn’t been able to report anything from their previous missions.

 

“It’s it.” said Fred. The others only stared at him.

 

“What do you mean?” asked Bill.

 

“It’s it. It’s the Death Eaters place, among others.” said George, and everyone jumped up and leaned forward in their chairs. <this was something new.

 

“What happened? What did you hear? Tell us everything!” said Charlie inpacantly.

 

“It was almost too easy.” said Fred, leaning back in his chair. “We haven’t tried to go up against the wards before now, because we didn’t want to draw any attention to us, in case the protections would alarm them we were there.”

 

“We were sitting in those _really_ uncomfortable bushes for several hours, but nothing happened, but then the Malfoy’s came by.” filled George in. Mrs Weasley gasped, and Remus and Kingsley exchanged a look, as Bill and Charlie muttered under their breaths.

 

“What were they doing there?” asked Mr Weasley darkly. The Weasleys weren’t on very good terms with the Malfoys. “And why did they apparate outside the Manor? Why didn’t they just floo over there?”

 

“We wondered about that too, but I think that they have the fireplace closed so that Ginny can’t escape.” said George.

 

“That makes sense.” said Remus. “And what did they then?”

 

“Well, it seemed like they were visiting the place. A guy called Fawley opened the door. We think his name is Victor, but it could be someone else living there, but we’re pretty sure he’s Fawley.” said Fred. Kingsley nodded.

 

“Yes, there’s a guy called Victor Fawley. I don’t know much about him, but he graduated Hogwarts a couple of years ago. His family is one of the famous pureblood ones, but I don’t think his family is related to Voldemort's actions.” The Weasleys flinched at the sound of Voldemort’s name, but Kingsley continued talking like nothing had happened.

 

“I think that most of the Fawleys has been in Hufflepuff at Hogwarts, and it seems unlikely that a Hufflepuff would join the Dark side. I don’t actually know what house Victor was in at Hogwarts.”

 

“Wait a second, I recognise that name.” said Charlie suddenly. “I think he was at Hogwarts the same time as me. A year up or something. He was a Slytherin, but I can’t remember him doing or saying anything that reveals he’s in with You-know-who.”

 

“Yeah, when you mention it, I think I remember this tall guy who all the girls were running after.” said Bill and scratched his head. “Didn’t pay much attention to him. He wasn’t doing anything out of ordinary worth remembering.”

 

“But you remember he was stealing all the girls, did you?” asked Charlie with a smirk. Bill scolded at him and waved a hand in the air to dismiss his question.

 

“No, not necessarily. It was you who was the womanizer back in the days.” said Bill and laughed. Charlie smacked his brother on the back of his head and turned his attention back at the others.

 

“Alright. Thank you for the information boys,” said Mr Weasley, looking at his oldest sons with an amused glimt in his eyes, and turned back at his younger sons. “Fred, George, please continue.”

 

“Well, they had a really boring tea party for about two hours or so, but they did mention Ginny.” said Fred. The others looked enguringly at them to make them tell what the Death Eaters had told talked about.

 

“They said that Draco had walked to the library in the house to meet with Ginny. She spends a lot of time in there, by the sounds of if.” sighed George.

 

“Well, that’s good, isn’t it?” asked Tonks hopefully. “They let her have some freedom?”

 

“I don’t think so. They said that she runs on the beach in the mornings. I don’t know what that means, but it does sound like she’s been trying to flee for some time.” said Fred glumly. “That Victor guy said ‘she can’t go very far.’ Does that mean that she gets caught every time?” reasoned Fred out loud.

 

“That sounds like they don’t very hard to guard her. Is that good or bad?” asked Charlie, just as confused as everyone in the room.

 

“I don’t know.” said Bill slowly. “You said it was easy to break the glamour charm over the Manor? And it wasn’t any more dangerous wards over it than that?”

 

“Yeah, we brought them down easily, and eavesdropped for nearly two hours. That seems quite suspicious. They even talked about how they were waiting for us to strike, and would fight us if we did.” said George. Everyone in the room became more and more uneasy by the information that was shared with them. They sat silent in their own thoughts for some time, and tried to process everything.

 

“It just seems too easy, don’t you think?” asked Remus at last. Everyone nodded in agreement, and they fell silent again. No one knew what to say or do now.

 

“But couldn’t Ginny use wandless magic to bring the wards down? She’s really powerful, even without a wand.” said Mrs Weasley anxiously and squeezed her husbands arm tightly. She hadn’t spoken for a while and startled everyone in the room.

 

“That’s the thing, why is she trying to escape without magic? Are they blocking it in some way? Is it even possible to block someones magic so they can’t use it?” asked Bill.

 

“Some materials and metals can block and absorb magic in some manners. Maybe the Death Eaters have developed something that is preventing Ginny to use her magic?” asked Remus.

 

“But what if they have taken her magic?” asked Tonks quietly. They had all thought about it, but no one else had dared to ask the question, because it was too scary to think about.

 

“I don’t even want to think about it.” said Mr Weasley and shuddered.

 

"And who's Manor is it that we're checking out? Do we even know who it belongs to?" asked Tonks.

 

"Could it be Fawleys? I havn't heard of a manor that belongs to them, but it would make sense if it was Victor's as he was staying there." said Bill

 

"Well, I doubt that the rest of the Fawley family would approve of having their old family home as headquarters for the Death Eaters. We have to investigate more on this issue, but what do we do now?" asked Mr Weasley.

 

“Well, I suggest that we keep watching them for some time, and try to figure out what’s happening to Ginny. We knew that she won’t be going to Hogwarts, but we need to keep the information of flowing to be kept updated.” said Kingsley. He suddenly stood up and excused himself as he needed to head home to his wife, and left the others with a hasty turn of his cloak. The rest of the group splitted up too, and went home to their own houses to sleep. But no one could sleep properly though, as the information kept nagging their brains long into the nights. What was happening to Ginny? Was she alright? Why were the protections so weak?

 

In another house in London, three young adults laid awake, thinking over everything that Remus had told them. Harry blamed himself for her capture, he knew,  even though Remus hadn't told him, that they had taken her, as she was Harry’s girlfriend. Or ex-girlfriend. He wanted to go and find her, but he knew nothing about where she was, or how to find her. They needed to focus on the horcruxes, he knew it, but it was hard, now that he knew that someone was in mortal peril because of him.

 

Harry fell asleep several hours later, with the horrible guilty feeling in his gut, that he was so familiar with.


	6. Malfoys and Mind Magic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys! I'm sorry for the bad updating, but I'm sick again (yey), and I got some new inspiration. It's SO hard to write Malfoy, but I think that he is really concerned for what they've all done to Ginny so he's all stuttery and not very composed as usual (because seeing Ginny like that would freak me out too). I think he wants to help Ginny, but don't know how, as she's all dark now, and he's stuck in this mess as she is. Next chapter I think I'm going to do some more buildning on Victors character. The last one SUCKED and I'll probably rewrite it soon, but not now. Anyways, hope you enyoy this one!

Ginny was often found by Victor in the library. She didn’t know why she spent so much time there, but she felt weirdly drawn to the place. It was like the books in there were calling for her. She read several hours a day, when she wasn’t training with Victor. It was comfortable to sit in the old and exclusive armchairs, reading about theories and facts about light and dark magic, and other interesting stuff. 

 

From the beginning, she hadn’t felt isolated, or lonely, like normal people probably would do in her situation. But Ginny enjoyed the silence and calm that the library provided her. Victor would usually let her be for several hours, as he had meetings and other important stuff to take care of, that Ginny didn’t bother inquire into. 

 

The outside didn’t attract her interests too much, even though the views over the blank beaches and silvery ocean were stunning. She did rather enjoy a morning run on the beach, as the dawn was spectacular, and the pink, purple and blue skies blended into brightness as the sun rose over the sharp horizon. The run would give her lungs the strength that she needed in dueling, and it weighed up for the amount of time she spent sitting down in the dark and quiet library.

 

On one day though, when Ginny was sitting as usual in one of her favorite green and puffy armchairs, the silence of the library was disturbed. She assumed that it was Victor who had come to snatch a book and seat himself beside her, as he sometimes did when he didn’t have missions or other duties to take care of. 

 

But no, this time, a tall boy, not a full grown man, but older than a teenager, with platinum white hair and pointed face stepped into her vision behind the book she was currently reading. The book was called  _ The Magic of the Mind _ , and was about mind magic and theories, quite obviously. Ginny was very interested in learning Occlumency, as it would be quite useful when you were working on the dark side. Victor was a very skilled Legilimence, and was helping Ginny with her Occlumency, as she wasn’t a natural, and it was very hard. 

 

Ginny lifted her gaze from the book and studied the boy. He was in turn staring at her, almost cautious. His body language told her that he was not relaxed, quite tense, and not really comfortable with the situation, which she could tell, he didn’t like. It was obvious that the boy liked control, and he was not having it now. Interesting. 

 

Ginny locked her eyes with him at last, and the boy (almost man?) flinched an inch, but it didn’t go unnoticed by Ginny. She waited patiently for him to speak, as she thought it would be the most sensible, when he was the one who disturbed her reading. The young man, boy, teenager, whatever he was, cleared his throat and took a step forward. Trying to inflict himself confidence over the situation. He did not, however, speak. Ginny waited for a moment, but words seemed to fail him, and she took charge. 

 

“Is there something bothering you, Mr. Malfoy?” she asked smoothly, with no emotion in her voice. She knew that it wasn’t really respectful to address him in that manner, but she wanted to see him sweat for some reason. He was interesting, and very unnerved with Ginny, and she wanted to find out where she could find his line, and how far he had drawn it. It would be interesting as well to find out how he would react if she stepped closer to that specific line. 

 

Ginny knew for a fact, that the young man in front of her was Draco Malfoy. She had studied the pureblood families so neatly that she could identify all of them in a heartbeat. The young Malfoy looked startled by her voice, but put on a mask to hide any other emotion that could betray him. An Occlumence, then. He cleared his throat again, and Ginny raised an eyebrow. Something was bothering the man utterly. 

 

“Well, I came here… actually I wanted to…” he began, but words seemed to fail him once more, and he cleared his throat for a third time. “Fawley said you would be here.” he said at last, and nothing more. Ginny raised her eyebrow even higher in question, but Malfoy seemed to not want to elaborate, so Ginny painted up a casual conversation, something that would make him uneasy for sure.

 

“I see.” she said and closed her book slowly. She could see Malfoy follow all her moves. “Could there be a reason for you, to be looking for me?” Her eyes were locked with Malfoys again, and he started to fiddle with the silvery buttons on the sleeve of his fancy, black suit. Ginny smirked invadly. Everything about Malfoy was sleek and neat, not a hair out of line, and his posture was almost unnaturally straight, but his eyes gave his induced calm away. She could tell that a fight was raging behind the eyes and in his mind. She wasn’t a Legilimence, but she was observant. Eyes were particularly interesting. 

 

“Yes.” said Malfoy slowly. When he hesitated a moment, Ginny gestured her hand to the armchairs around her. She didn’t point at a specific seat, but merely held an open invitation to him. He hesitated once more, but moved slowly but gracefully to one of the green, stuffed armchairs in front of her. The chairs were placed in a circle, seven chairs with a small side table in the middle, probably with the use of placing the teacups on if a meeting would be held there. There were also a small stock of different pricy alcohols in the library, but Ginny had been told to keep away from that, not that she bothered to get drunk and unfocused. That would be a nightmare. The side table was beautiful, with dark wood legs carved with elegance, and a sleek, round glass-plate on top. The table was now occupied with heaps of books Ginny wanted to read about mind magic.

 

Malfoy had seated himself in the armchair right across from Ginny, obviously to make as much space between them as possible. He pulled up his leg and placed his foot on his knee, still seated with a straight back, but looking a bit more comfortable and relaxed in a sitting position. Ginny thought that she would never understand how people could sit comfortable in a soft chair with a straight back, but did it nevertheless. When they both had eyed each other for some more time, Malfoy looked down on the table in between them, and picked up the book that laid on top of the small pile of books. He held one called  _ Messing with Minds _ . 

 

“Why are you reading about mind magic?” he asked at last. Ginny glanced down in her lap where the book  _ Magic of the Mind _ was laing, and then on the book in Malfoy’s hands. She decided to stay to the truth.

 

“I’m learning Occlumency.” she said simply, still no emotion in her voice. It sounded rather cold though, and she could tell that it unnerved Malfoy. It made her somewhat happy to see. 

 

“Smart move.” he said and nodded, trying to be casual, and started to browse the book in his hands. 

 

“You are a natural Occlumence.” she stated. It wasn’t a question, but Malfoy looked up from the book and nodded.

 

“I got help from my aunt, Bellatrix. She was the one who learned me to control it. Made it a hell of a lot faster to learn it, as it was her who taught it.” he said, with force in his voice. Ginny peered at Malfoy, he had catched her interest even more. Why did a careful and sleek man like Draco Malfoy  _ curse _ in front of Ginny, and more, insult his aunt, who was a  _ very _ close person to the Dark Lord? 

 

“Why did you learn it quicker?” Ginny asked, but then realised her own answer. “Ah, but you wouldn’t want her in your head for too long, no?” Malfoy nodded slowly, looking crestfallen all of a sudden.  _ How _ come that Malfoy was cracking his mask all of a sudden? Ginny liked this. 

 

“I wouldn’t want her in my head too long either.” Ginny admitted. “Not that I have anything to hide from her, but still, she can be quite, vicious.” It seemed like Ginny had picked on something sensitive there, because Malfoy suddenly shuddered, but tried to hide it as much as he could. That didn’t go unnoticed by Ginny either. Nothing went unnoticed by Ginny.

 

“Well then Mr. Malfoy, I do believe that you didn’t come all the way here to talk about your aunt or my preferences in books. Are you here with your father and mother as well?” asked Ginny, more business like. The time to cross Malfoy’s boundaries was not today she decided, sadly enough. 

 

“Yes. They were about to have a meeting with Fawley and some others. Not sure what about, but I decided to come here and see you.” said Malfoy with a shrug. She could tell that he wasn’t the composed and gathered man that he was usually, because he kept fingering on the book in his hands, almost nervously.  _ Not today. _

 

“And I don’t suppose that you will tell me  _ why _ you intended to see me?” asked Ginny, and already knowing the answer. Malfoy studied her for a moment, before he answered.

 

“No.” he said simply, and began to read the book he had been holding for their entire conversation.

  
  


Malfoy did come back several times, often two to three times a week, but they didn’t talk much. It was mostly  _ ‘Welcome back, Mr. Malfoy’ _ and some casual talking about the things that the book said. Ginny enjoyed talking to Malfoy. He was intelligent, with a love for cheeky and snide comments, that she easely retorted. But they had fun the few hours that he stayed and talked. Sometimes, they didn’t even talk for once, Malfoy came, picked a book, read for some hours, and went of again. 

 

Ginny was never the one who started the conversation in the beginning, except for their first encounter. It was always Malfoy who would say hello first, or start up the discussions about different topics. Ginny mostly studied him, and could tell when he was tense and did  _ not _ want to talk right now, which actually did surprise her, as he came to the library nevertheless. She had supposed that he had come for the first times to talk to someone in his own age and situation, but he didn’t always want to talk, which was fine by her. 

 

The time in the manor went by, and the weeks slowly crept by. There had actually been an entry in the Ministry of magic some days prior, and Malfoy came to visit more than ever, as his parents needed to go on meetings. Victor had told Ginny that three intruders had trespassed in the Ministry, and they were almost sure that it were Harry Potter, and his friend Hermione Granger. The last intruder was not yet identified, but no doubt a friend of Potter. 

 

Ginny was very interested in the whole Ministry flop, and Malfoy gladly delivered. He told her that three people had entered the Ministry, and two of them into the Magical law enforcement, in a trial. Several muggle borns had escaped the trials that the Ministry had introduced some weeks prior. Those two were no doubt Potter and Granger, but the last man was still undiscovered. Malfoy had a theory that it could be the youngest Weasley brother, but he was said to be sick in spattergroit, and locked in the Burrow, Ginny’s children home, so the theory continued to be just a theory. 

 

Ginny had asked if she could go to the Ministry and check it out together with Victor, but he refused. She understood that no one could see her with ‘the dark side’ as their cover would be blown then, but it didn’t make Ginny less sulky. She had become more restless in the manor, and reading less, and running more. She could do laps back and forth on the beach for several hours before Victor would come and bring her back. She tried to tire herself out in the morning, so that she wouldn’t be so restless and bouncy in the afternoon, but it became rather boring after a couple of days. 

 

Victor was also gone more and more as they all tried to sort out the Ministry. Apparently had Dolores Umbridge, a small and ugly looking woman, working at the Ministry, been stunned during the trial of a muggle born witch, when the intruders had stepped in. It was unknown why Potter had intruded on the trial. It seemed too far fetched that he had risked so much, only to save some muggle borns. No, he was looking for something. Malfoy and Ginny had discussed this every time he had come over, and that was almost every day, and they had come up with some ideas on why Potter were there. 

 

They were found with a group of muggle borns, taken from the courtrooms, the lowest level in the Ministry. And what was the closest to the courtrooms? The Departments of Mysteries. He had, evidently together with Ginny, even though she didn’t have a memory of it, broken into the Department of Mysteries one time before, and he could possibly do it again. 

 

It felt like she and Malfoy had come to be, not friends, but more like acquaintances. She saw Victor as a friend, but she hadn’t had a proper and genuine conversation in several weeks, and it felt almost like they were drifting apart. It didn’t bother Ginny however, and it faintly felt like it would’ve been something she should’ve been sad about, but she didn’t care much. What’d she need friends for? Allies were good enough. And Malfoy was a funny bloke when he was relaxed. But Ginny needed answers.

 

They were sitting in the library in their usual seats. Malfoy hadn't bothered to move closer to Ginny and sit beside her, but they could watch each other from their distance, and if they wanted to know the other person's opinion in something they had read, they would just read it aloud, rather than passing the book between them. Malfoy had given up reading about mind magic, as he already was an Occlumence, and wasn’t interested as Ginny was with other branches in mind magic, and was now reading a book about potions. He had told her that he’d been good at it in Hogwarts, and maybe wanted to work with it after the war, if it was possible. The fact that he maybe wasn’t allowed to work with it if the Dark Lord could decide was unsaid, but not unnoticed.

 

They wouldn’t talk about the Dark Lord much, but Ginny knew that Draco Malfoy had met him several times, and had been assigned to kill Albus Dumbledore last year. Even though he didn’t succeed, and Severus Snape had done it instead, he was still pretty high ranked by the Death Eaters. Maybe even higher than his father. It was dangerous, and Malfoy tried to stay out from most of the meetings, even though he told Ginny it was for  _ totally _ different reasons, but she got the impression that Malfoy tried to stay out of the Dark Lords vision. Ginny didn’t care what the others were doing, or what they felt about the Dark Lord, but kept to herself. 

 

Ginny glanced at Malfoy over her book, and watched him read. He always got a crease between his eyebrows when he was concentrating, and she was almost sorry to break his focus. Almost.

 

“Malfoy?” she said suddenly. They had gone from calling the other Miss or Mr before their last names, and kept to the last name only. Malfoy looked up, probably thinking that she was questioning him about her book. 

 

“Why are you always so tense around me? Or looking like I’m the hardest riddle you’ve ever tried to solve before?” she asked, and Malfoy immediately tensed. He looked like he was relaxing when he was reading, but she could see the clenched jaw when she was talking with him about Dark magic and artefacts, or other dark things. He stared at her, trying to see what was going on behind her eyes, but Ginny sat silent and questioning. After a long silence, he answered.

 

“Because you’re different now.” he said. Not what she had expected.

 

“Please continue.” she said in a flat voice, but with a twinge of curiosity. He stared into her eyes for some more times, before continuing.

 

“I - not knew you, but had met you before, this.” he stammered, looking for words. “You were so passionate, had a real temper, but now? Stone cold.” He looked away, and Ginny sat and thought about what he had told her. He was cracking up again. Useful. 

 

“Stone cold.” she repeated, absently. Malfoy nodded, still not looking at her.

 

“You always stood up to others, and was not afraid to bat-bogey-hex someone who tried to infuriate you. You’ve lost that now.” Ginny snorted, it sounded rather childishly.

 

“Well, maybe it’s because I’m more grown up now, I do actually learn stuff from Fawley-” 

 

“No, it’s not that. You’re different. You’re darker” he said, and finally looked at her. Their eyes locked again, as they had done the first time that they met. “Why?” A simple question, almost a plea, but Ginny felt nothing. 

 

“I’m someone else now.”

 

“What did they do to you?”

 

“Improved me.” 


	7. Fawley's faults

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh. Alright, so life happened. And I just couldn’t find it in me to write because I was so tired. And I had really no motivation at all. But I’M ALIVE. And it’s now the summer holidays, so I have a lot of time to write. I want to finish this story, because I have the end in my mind, and I can’t just skip the boring parts. This chapter is mostly a filler, and I’m sorry, but the story continues and will be posted SOON. 
> 
> So if someone actually is still waiting for another chapter, there will be more. This story is not dead and I’m fighting on. Please have a good day and leave kudos to make my efforts not seem so unnecessary.

Victor was seething with anger, but he tried to tuck it away with Occlumency. Nothing was going his way, but he tried to keep his temper, even though it was almost impossible.

The Dark Lord’s takeover over the Ministry had been a great achievement, and would be helping them a lot to find the Potter boy. Victor was almost certain that Potter knew that Ginny was with him, but he had done nothing about it yet. 

That was a disappointment. The Dark Lord was becoming impatient, and it showed of in the form of punishment. Victor had got his part, and he didn’t want to disappoint his master more. He wanted to show his best colors around him, and had worked overtime at the Ministry, and had voluntary requested to go on more missions with the other Death Eaters. 

That had made it a lot harder to train together with Ginny, and he didn’t like to leave her in the hands of Bellatrix Lestrange. He was not that much of a monster.

The fact was, that Victor had started to like Ginny. He had never felt the way for someone else before, and it made him a bit uneasy. He wanted to spend more time around her, but he didn’t want it at the same time. He didn’t want to get attached to someone right in the middle of a war. That was both dangerous, and stupid. And Victor Fawley was not stupid.

What he didn’t like however, was how much time Draco Malfoy was spending with her. Every time he came to the manor and went to the library to see Ginny, Victor would have to restrain himself to not say something inappropriate. Draco Malfoy was after all in good league with the Dark Lord, and it would be an extremely bad idea to get in the wrong ways with someone so high ranked.

That was something else that made him angry. Malfoy was younger than him, but still higher up with the Death Eaters than him. Victor had to work against his family’s reputation and show himself worthy, when all Malfoy had to do was being the kid of Lucius. He even failed a great mission for the Dark Lord, but could still be forgiven, and work with the rest again. Sure, he had been punished, but if it would’ve been someone else, like Victor himself, he would’ve been killed. 

But now, Malfoy was hiding together with Ginny in the library, and didn’t go on any missions if the Dark Lord didn’t order him to it himself. Victor couldn’t understand how he still was so highly thought of. He had an even better reputation than his father, as many Death Eaters would’ve thought that Draco would’ve died in the process of his mission with killing Dumbledore. But he had survived, both Dumbledore and the Dark Lord, and Severus Snape had become the Dark Lord’s lap dog instead. 

Victor was working in the DMAC at the Ministry in the Obliviator Headquarters as an Obliviator. He was specialized in strong memory charms, and could also break them. He was a good recours if they found someone on a mission who had been Obliviated, and they needed information. Torture could work to break memory charms, but Victor was more skilled in breaking them, and it was faster that way. Some important memories could also be lost with torture before the person went insane from the pain.

He was also a trained Legilimence, and could get information from others that way. He sometimes trained other Death Eaters some easy Occlumency, to give them a minor mind shield if they would need them. He had been teaching Ginny Occlumency, but had to give up their practical lessons as he worked more than ever with missions and with the new Ministry. He had recommended some books in the library, and after that, he barely saw her any more.

He had noticed that she would run several hours in the morning before breakfast. She was even up before himself, and he would often drag her away from the beach so she could eat some food, before she would disappear into the library for the day. Then, Malfoy would often appear and make his way up to Ginny before Victor went of to the Ministry, or some mission.

Now, Victor was for once free from work, and he wasn’t on a mission with the others, so he came home earlier than usual. He usually came home some hours before midnight, and woke up around six in the morning to go away, so his days was often very long. The dark bags under his eyes was a proof of that. 

He walked up the many stairs to get to the library. He wanted to test Ginny on her Occlumency skills, and see if they had improved anything. He knew that with all the time she spent locked inside with only books, she would’ve improved a lot. He opened the doors to the great room, and made his way through the labyrinth of high shelves filled with old and new books. He walked through a section with books on grey magic, when he came to a small clearing from the endless shelves were Ginny sat with piles of books around her. To Victors utter fury, Malfoy sat beside her, and they seemed to be looking at a page in Ginny’s book. 

They were sitting in an armchair each beside each others, with their backs turned from Victor. Their talk was controlled, and they seemed deep into their conversations, as they hadn’t turned to greet Victor. He took some slow steps forward, watching them. Ginny was streaking her finger along the page on the book, and Malfoy was following it, laying comments here and there. 

Suddenly, Ginny stiffened and turned sharply around with her wand drawn, pointing right at Victor. She seemed surprised to see him, and lowered her wand. Malfoy had also turned around, and his features faltered when they met eyes. He could probably tell that Victor was not happy to see him. 

“Victor, you’re back early.” said Ginny with slight surprise. Her eyes however were mostly cold. They were always cold. 

“Yes, there was no more work to be done at the Ministry today,” said Victor in a dry voice. He was still eyeing Malfoy suspiciously. His anger was flaring up again. “I would prefer if you left us alone, Draco. Ginny and I need to check on her occlumency.”

Draco stood up slowly. “I would actually want a word with you, Victor,” He shot a sideways glance at Ginny. “In private.” Victor gazed at him with untrust, but nodded all the same. The two men walked back to the entrance to the library and stepped outside. Victor turned to Malfoy and gave him an unimpressed look. He was usually much taller than other people, and could easily intimidate them while towering over them, but Malfoy was the same height as him. It made him even more angry.

“What do you want?” snapped Victor impatiently. Malfoy looked at him with a sour face that told him that he enjoyed talking with Victor as much as him. 

“What have you done with her?” asked Malfoy suspiciously, throwing Victor of guard. 

“What do you mean?” he retorted, less angry but even more suspicious. Malfoy only scoffed.

“Don’t be daft,” laughed Malfoy humorlessly. Victor scowled back at him. “You’ve meddled with her mind with some kind. What’ve you done? An obliviate? That can’t be strong enough.” Victor raised an eyebrow.

“Why do you care? With her help, we’ll get Potter in our hands faster than without. You want us to catch him, don’t you?” Victor watched Malfoy carefully and tried to decipher what his reactions meant. But Malfoy was a good Occlumence, and stuffed out all emotions from his face and eyes.

“Of course, why else would I be here?” Victor inched closer, like an animal ready to strike at its prey. 

“Oh I have a few theories. Want to hear them?” He didn’t wait for Malfoy to answer however. “You and your pathetic father has no real place in the Dark Lord’s inner circle. Do you think that you deserve that mark on your arm?” He scoffed. “Think again. You are afraid of our Master, and you are too much of a softie to feel any satisfaction that we managed to take Harry Potters girlfriend as our hostage. You are a coward, Draco Malfoy, and I don’t play any games. Try, and you lose. Do you understand?” Victor had crept closer to Malfoy for the whole speech, and they now stood almost nose to nose. They were glaring at each other with a burning hatred, but Malfoy didn’t waver. 

“I am no coward, nor an idiot, unlike you Fawley,” said Malfoy coldly, shooting daggers at Victor. “I would not be so foolish to try and ‘play any games’- as you call it- with a sore loser as yourself.” 

Victor backed away from Malfoy and breathed heavily through clenched teeth. He swallowed hard and had to restrain himself to not hex the other man right then and there. “We are built of memories, I’m sure you know, obliviator as you are. If you delete all of Ginny’s memories, you will destroy her. Make her crumble, piece after piece. Maybe you’ve already seen her change? Sensed something different from her by this short stay here? It will only get worse, and one day, she’ll be gone. You’ll never have her whole, you know.” Malfoy stared intently at Victor for a reaction, but he stood his ground and ignored his accusations.

He knew of course all of the things that Malfoy had mentioned. He had also noticed a slightly changed behaviour in Ginny, but he didn’t care. 

(If only he didn’t care.) 

“We don’t care about her. I don’t care about her,” he said forcefully. “I advise you to stay away from Ginny from now on, or I will make you.” Victor turned around sharply, and slammed the doors to the library closed behind him.

Malfoy stood left behind, breathing heavily through gritted teeth. There was only one thing to do then.

Malfoy Library.

He walked hastily through the manor, burst through the entrance doors, turned sharply on the spot, and vanished.

 

Dear Ginny,

I know that you probably are not OK right now, and I don’t know if you will even get this letter, but Luna and I know that wherever you are, you’re fighting. You have always been strong for us, and helped us with our insecurities, and fought at our and Harry’s side, but now you have to be strong for yourself. 

DO NOT GIVE UP.

We’re keeping up the DA, and have slight plan in mind. It’s going to be great, just you wait. We hope that this reaches you. We both love you very much and think about you every single day. Stay strong.

Love  
Neville & Luna

 

Ginny read through the letter several times, before snorting and touching the paper with the tip of her wand, so it burst into flames. She watched the letter burn and shirwell black on the edges until it ate its way into the middle, and then fade into a pile of ash. 

Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood, she thought to herself. They were my friends, but what do I need friends for? I have myself, my wand, and my master. Everything else is overrated.

She had noticed that Draco Malfoy had stopped coming to visit her in the library. 

She didn’t care.

He was never her friend. An ally, with a shared master. That was all. He was weak, she had felt it, and she had no use for a weak person with no ambitions and who liked to read for fun. Ginny always read to accomplish something, to learn new things and to improve her mind. She focused all her time on training, reading and dueling. Not a single minute was going to waste. But she had been interrupted with her reading when an owl had knocked on her window to the library. 

The owl had delivered the letter from her “friends” Neville and Luna. But she didn’t have any feelings for them left, if there were any from the beginning. She didn’t know, nor care. 

She waved her wand and cast a quick tempus, that showed that it was time for training soon. She blew some hair out of her face, but it fell back again. 

With a frown, she walked out from the library and into the nearest bathroom. She stood in front of a beautifully decorated mirror with gold details. But she wasn’t looking at the mirror, she was looking at her hair. It was in her way. And nothing stood in Ginny’s way.

She raised her wand, and with a sharp flick with it, a cutting charm made the long, read strand of hair to fall to the floor in a quick fashion. She watched it curiously before raising her wand again, and cutting the rest of her hair to match the much shorter style. 

After a few minutes, her hair was no longer above her waist, it was now a neck length, just brushing her shoulders lightly. 

She brushed her hair with a come she had transfigured from a soap to get rid of excess lose hair. With a final look at herself, she left the bathroom and made her way down to the bottom drawing room to train together with whoever had time for her. Lately, she had been training dueling and shooting spells on her own, because no one had had time for her. 

She didn’t care, she was good on her own anyway. But it was easier to duel with someone else after all, and not by yourself. It was called a duel for a reason, not a single or something. 

The drawing room was beautifully decorated with white and grey marble, and silver details. The sun shone through the large windows on the left side of the room, and the large outside with long, sandy beaches gave a nice view. Ginny wasn’t interested in the view however, and sat down in an armchair in the far away side of the room to wait for someone. 

The doors opened exactly as the clock chimed two in the afternoon, and in strode Bellatrix and Victor, the latter looking grumpy and tense. Bellatrix was her usual intimidating self- not that Ginny was affected by her, but she imagined that others would be- and Ginny stood up and walked towards them.

“I see you’ve gone for a new style,” said Bellatrix mockingly with a fake caring voice and fingered on Ginny’s loose hair strands. “Not looking like a little girl anymore, do we?”

“The hair was in my way. It was distracting.” Ginny spoke with no emotion and looked Bellatrix full in the face. She wasn’t scared, she wasn’t affected. Bellatrix seemed to consider her, and gave an approving nod.

“Very well. We’re doing hexes today. Get ready.”

They trained for hours until they were sweating and panting 

“We think that you are ready to meet The Dark Lord soon, Ginny,” said Bellatrix with an unpleasant smile. “He has been requesting you.”

Ginny felt an odd sense of pride in her gut, but it was very subdued. She didn’t feel much emotion anymore, and this was a very faint feeling. It felt odd, but not uncomfortable. 

“I would be honored to meet my Master.” A shudder went through Victor at Ginny’s words. They were cold, automatic, wrong. This was not the same girl he had accompanied several a month ago. 

“You are dismissed.” Bellatrix walked out of the room and left Ginny and Victor alone. She left an uncomfortable silence between them, as well.

“I like your hair,” said Victor hesitantly, only to break the silence, “It suits you.”

“Thank you. But it wasn’t made to look good. It was made to not let me make any mistakes.” 

“Malfoy hasn’t been here to visit for some time, hasn’t he?” 

“No, he hasn’t,” answered Ginny. “I got a letter today actually.” The change of topic surprised him. 

“From Malfoy?” Ginny laughed, and it felt like ages since Victor had heard her laugh. It felt good. She wasn’t gone, he told herself.

“No, you dolt,” said Ginny with a smile. “From my ‘friends’ Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood. They told me they ‘were thinking about me every day’ and that they ‘was planning something big’. What do you think that means? That they’re planning something? They did mention something else, DA. What is that? I can’t remember.”

“The DA was stunt Potter and some other students were doing two years ago,” said Victor, moving to sit in an armchair in the room. Ginny followed him and they sat down, resting after the hard dueling session. He crossed his legs at his ankles and leaned back, pushing his hair out of his eyes. Ginny looked interested, and Victor elaborated. “A secret society where the kids learned defense and stuff. You were there too. Potter was the leader. Dolores Umbridge at the ministry told me; she was the DADA teacher back then.” 

“Umbridge, she was the one in the courtroom when the imposters broke in, right?” 

“Yes, that’s right. She was stunned, but nothing else, what we know of. It seemed like it was the Muggle borns in and outside the court who were the target, we believe. They wanted to rescue them, to make them avoid their trials.”

Ginny hummed in consideration, and looked outside the window, on the constant waves that regularly washed up on the shore. It was darker outside than before their training 

Victor and Ginny continued to talk for several hours after that. It wasn’t until a house elf appeared and told them that their dinner was ready that they realized that they had been conversing for a very long time. 

Ginny was a bit horrified that she had spent so many hours on nothing. That was several hours that she could’ve spent on reading and learning, and had now wasted the on… what exactly? A friendly conversation? To her slight surprised, she realized that she wasn’t very upset over it at all, after a but of afterthought. She liked to spend time with Victor, and it confused her. 

A warm feeling was spreading in her gut again, and a slight fondness for Victor made her want to laugh loudly again with happiness. She didn’t think that she had felt happiness for quite a while. It was nice, feeling joy, and she wanted to feel it again. More. 

Was Victor her friend? Why did he make her laugh? Did she need friends? She didn’t think she needed them. And they could only disappoint her, as Malfy had. But Victor had so much in common with her, unlike Malfoy. He was alone too, left a disappointing family to serve his Master, The Dark Lord. And Ginny would soon meet him. She felt that odd excitement that she hadn’t felt in a long while (she thought). 

Victor felt content, and like Ginny was coming back to who she was first after the memory charm. He liked to make Ginny laugh, and found himself doing it time and time again. It was odd, but he hoped that Ginny thought of him as her friend. He needed a friend. He was tired, and alone. And that was not a good combination in these times. He only hoped that he would come out of this fine enough. 

Hopefully, with Ginny at his side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's happening with Ginny? Tell me what you think, I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> I'm going to focus some on my other chapters to correct anything that's wrong. I hope you like'd this, and please tell me what you would like to see in this story. I have room for any suggestions that I see fit into the story.
> 
> Thanks as always for taking your time and reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a review!


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